Georgia's only oil refinery, located in the Black Sea port of Kulevi, has been included in the European Union's 21st sanctions package. The restrictions are related to the fact that the enterprise processes Russian oil, writes Deutsche Welle.
According to the EU Council's decision, the ban on transactions with the plant will come into force on January 25, 2027. However, this can be avoided if the enterprise completely refuses to process Russian raw materials by then.
As early as July 1, Black Sea Petroleum (BSP), the company that owns the plant, announced that it would stop using Russian oil in August-September. According to Georgian media, currently about 99% of Georgia's oil imports come from Russia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia expressed regret on July 24 regarding the European Union's decision. The ministry stated that during the preparation of the 21st sanctions package, the Georgian side provided European institutions with all necessary information and documents which, in its opinion, demonstrated the absence of grounds for imposing restrictions against the plant.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed hope that the European Union would reconsider its decision within the next six months. Georgia, as noted by the ministry, is ready to continue cooperation with the EU and provide all necessary information.
The possibility of imposing sanctions against the Kulevi oil refinery was reported as early as February 2026. According to an investigation by the Russian publication The Insider, the owners of the enterprise have ties to Russia. The plant began operations in October 2025, when the first batch of Russian oil arrived there.
The European Union suspected that the enterprise could be used for re-exporting Russian oil and facilitating circumvention of sanctions. In response, the Georgian authorities and BSP management claimed that they were allegedly not violating the sanctions regime.
In March, the European Commission announced that Georgia had committed not to allow vessels of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" into its ports. At the same time, BSP stated its intention to gradually replace Russian oil with raw materials from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and other alternative sources.
Now reading
The business of a member of Lukashenka's hockey team, who promised to build a ski arena behind the Supreme Court in exchange for prime plots, has collapsed 33
Comments
Власть в Грузии - антинациональная, как и в Беларуси, правда, справедливости ради, надо сказать, что, в отличии от белорусской, грузинская власть не стала оккупационной, но, такая же падкая на сверхприбыли сегодня и теперь, полностью не думая о завтрашнем дне, а тем более о национальных интересах Грузии.