Azerbaijan-based SOCAR company stopped the purchase of Russian oil to the STAR refinery in Turkey. He said SOCAR is reviewing the new situation to comply with Western sanctions.
He said that Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has stopped purchasing Russian crude oil from its refinery in Turkey. Sources said this is a sign that Western sanctions are beginning to hit trade outside of Europe and the US as well.
The EU embargo on Russian crude oil imports by sea came into effect on 5 December. However, Turkey did not participate in the ceiling price agreement. Therefore, Russian companies were able to continue to sell oil to the country without being subject to this restriction.
THEY INCREASED PURCHASES
In addition, Turkish refineries, including SOCAR’s STAR facility with a production capacity of 214,000 barrels per day, increased their Russian crude oil purchases after the Russia-Ukraine war. This was a more lucrative trade for Russian manufacturers than in Asia, due to the countries’ proximity.
However, in the new situation, SOCAR started not to buy Russian oil at the STAR refinery in Aliağa, following Western sanctions. A source briefed on the matter said SOCAR is reviewing the situation to comply with Western sanctions.
According to data from financial monitoring platform Refinitiv Eikon, the amount of oil Russia sold to Turkey in November fell to its lowest level since February.
RUSSIAN OIL TO TURKEY DECREASED
According to the ship observation data of Refinitiv Eikon, the Russian Ural oil purchased by Turkey reached 300 thousand barrels per day from August to October, while this figure decreased to 170,000 barrels in November.
While the STAR refinery purchased 170,000 barrels of oil per day in the last three months, this figure decreased to 73 thousand barrels in November.
