Türkiye reduces Russian oil imports following US sanctions

Turkish oil refineries have reduced their crude oil purchases from Russia in the wake of US sanctions, increasing imports from Iraq and Kazakhstan instead.

According to a report by the Reuters news agency citing sources familiar with the matter, this development occurred after the US, European Union, and the United Kingdom began imposing sanctions on Russia’s oil sector due to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Major refineries seek alternatives

According to Reuters, SOCAR Türkiye Ege Rafinerisi, one of Türkiye’s largest refineries owned by the Azerbaijani state company SOCAR, purchased four shipments of crude oil from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and other producers outside of Russia for delivery in December.

Tüpraş, another major Turkish refinery, is also increasing its oil purchases from sources other than Russia. These acquisitions include Iraqi oil, which has qualities similar to Russia’s Ural grade.

Reuters’ sources indicated that Tüpraş, which operates two large refineries, may soon halt Russian oil imports at one of its facilities entirely.

Additionally, the company has purchased oil from Brazil for the first time and is awaiting a second shipment of Mostarda crude from Angola in early November.

Türkiye was one of the largest buyers of Russian oil

Alongside China and India, Türkiye was one of the largest buyers of Russian oil.

According to Reuters’ sources, Türkiye is set to import 141,000 barrels per day of Iraqi oil in November. This figure is up from 99,000 barrels per day in October and this year’s average of 80,000 barrels per day.

In contrast, as of October, Russian oil constituted 47% of Türkiye’s oil imports, amounting to 317,000 barrels per day.

On October 22, US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, along with 34 of their affiliated entities, following the Kremlin’s refusal to stop the war in Ukraine.

The US Treasury Department had granted a one-month period to complete existing transactions with the sanctioned companies.

Despite the decline in oil, natural gas flow has increased

Gazprom’s natural gas shipments to Europe through a branch of the TurkStream pipeline increased in October.

This information was confirmed by data published on November 1 on the website of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG).

According to the data, 17,403 GWh of gas passed through the Strandja 2 / Malkoçlar entry point on the Türkiye-Bulgaria border in October.

This amount represents an 8.7% increase compared to September and a 13% increase compared to October of the previous year.

The total amount of gas transported via this route since the beginning of the year has reached 152,000 GWh, marking a 7.5% increase compared to the same period last year.

The European branch of TurkStream is the only remaining route for Gazprom to deliver pipeline gas to Europe, following the Nord Stream sabotage and the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine and the Yamal-Europe pipeline.

The Blue Stream pipeline also connects Türkiye and Russia, but the gas from this pipeline is supplied exclusively to Türkiye’s domestic market.

The EU aims to completely phase out Russian gas

The European Union aims to completely phase out Russian natural gas by January 1, 2028.

The plan is to cease imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia by January 1, 2027.