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Energy

Georgia's new refinery runs its first Kazakh crude

Kulevi took 5,500 tonnes of Kazakh crude in July, the first Kazakhstan has ever sold into Georgia, at $3.2 million. The operator says August cargoes and Libyan barrels will finish replacing Russian supply. For Astana the volume is a rounding error. For Tbilisi, direction.

By CAW Editorial21 August 2026
Georgia's new refinery runs its first Kazakh crude

Geostat's July trade data, reported by BM.GE on 19 August, record Georgia's first-ever Kazakh crude import. Black Sea Petroleum, the plant's operator, began processing on 3 August.

The plant opened this year on Russian crude, under a six-month transition period the European Commission granted it “to diversify away from Russian crude oil”. The clock moves the barrels.

Kazakh crude has entered a market it never held, while its main outlet loads under drone risk.

BSP says more Kazakh volumes arrive in August and Libyan cargoes between 20 and 30 August, on a contract that runs to the end of 2027. After that, by the company's account, Russian intake ends.

Set against Kazakhstan's own ledger the cargo disappears: 5,500 tonnes is less than 0.1% of a normal export month. The direction is the story. Kazakh crude has entered a market it never held, while its main outlet loads under drone risk.

Two holes remain. BM.GE does not say how the oil traveled, and no published schedule shows what Kulevi can take in a month. The August line in Geostat's next release will say whether a cargo became a route.

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