Reuters: Russian Oil Company Delivers First Cargo to Georgia's New Kulevi Refinery
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Russian oil producer Russneft has delivered the first shipment of crude oil to Georgia's newly built Kulevi refinery this month, Reuters reported, citing LSEG ship-tracking data and industry sources.
The delivery marks the launch of operations at Georgia's first oil refinery, located near the Black Sea port of Kulevi. Although Russia and Georgia have had no formal diplomatic relations since their 2008 war over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, economic ties between the two countries have expanded under the ruling Georgian Dream party.
According to Reuters, the tanker Kayseri transported about 105,000 tons of Siberian Light crude from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk to the Kulevi Oil Terminal on October 6. Russneft did not respond to a request for comment.
Georgia's Revenue Service confirmed that the Kayseri thermal oil tanker entered Kulevi port from Russia. The agency said the vessel carried up to 100,000 tons of crude oil shipped from a Russian company and intended for import customs procedures. However, it did not specify which company's oil was on board, saying it was "refraining from disseminating information containing tax secrets."
The Revenue Service also stated that "international sanctions do not apply to the ship and the company that owns the ship, as well as the companies sending and receiving the cargo." It said the oil was unloaded into a temporary customs warehouse for further control procedures.
"The Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance and the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency coordinate and constantly carry out inspections of both ships and shipowners in relation to international sanctions," the agency said. "If a ship or shipowner is on the sanctions list, it is not allowed to enter Georgian ports or carry out customs procedures."
According to Reuters, Russia is working to diversify its export routes amid Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, while Georgia aims to reduce its reliance on imported fuels from Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Romania, and Kazakhstan.
The Kulevi refinery began operations this month with an initial processing capacity of about 1.2 million tons of oil per year, or roughly 24,000 barrels per day. Capacity is expected to rise to 4 million tons annually by 2028, supplying both domestic and export markets.
