BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 2. Kazakhstan's crude oil has been processed at Black Sea Petroleum's Kulevi Oil Refinery in Georgia as part of the company's transition to non-Russian feedstock, Black Sea Petroleum LLC said.
"Black Sea Petroleum’s Kulevi Oil Refinery has been processing exclusively non-Russian feedstock, successfully completing its switch away from Russian-origin crude oil. This followed a transition period during July and the first three weeks of August, when the refinery processed Kazakh crude oil alongside Russian crude oil", the statement reads.
The company noted that on August 30, the vessel KRITI LEGEND arrived at the Port of Kulevi carrying Black Sea Petroleum's first shipment of Libyan crude oil. The cargo, of up to 90,000 tons, was supplied under a long-term agreement signed on July 3.
Black Sea Petroleum said the shipment marked another step in the implementation of its feedstock diversification plan.
The Kulevi Oil Refinery is located at the Kulevi Oil Terminal on Georgia's Black Sea coast. On July 1, 2026, Black Sea Petroleum announced that it would begin refining crude oil of entirely non-Russian origin in August-September 2026.
At a press briefing on July 24, 2026, the European Commission declared that Black Sea Petroleum was in active communication with the Commission and explained that the six-month transition period was intended to allow the refinery to diversify away from Russian crude oil. The company said the steps already taken by Black Sea Petroleum are consistent with that objective and timeframe.
In the first half of 2026, Black Sea Petroleum processed more than 650,000 tons of feedstock.
