In July, Georgia imported Kazakhstani oil for the first time. The shipment totaled 5,500 tons and was worth $3.2 million, according to data from Georgia’s National Statistics Office.
The average price of oil shipped from Kazakhstan was around $582 per ton. For comparison, Georgia imported 87,400 tons of Russian oil that same month, worth $36.4 million, or around $416 per ton — $166 per ton, or 40%, below the price of Kazakhstani crude.
Georgia seeks alternative to Russian oil
Kazakhstani oil deliveries to the Georgian market come amid changes in crude supply pattern to the Kulevi Oil Refinery.
Georgia’s only refinery is set to stop using Russian oil and switch to crude from other sources. Its operator, Black Sea Petroleum, previously said that the refinery was expected to begin processing exclusively non-Russian oil in August–September 2026. During the first six months of the year, the refinery processed more than 650,000 tons of crude.
In July, the EU officially issued a notification on the inclusion of Kulevi Oil Refinery in sanctions related to Russia’s actions against Ukraine.
Against this backdrop, alternative suppliers are becoming increasingly important for the refinery, with Kazakhstan now a potential supplier.
Kazakhstan boosts shipments through Azerbaijan
At the same time, Kazakhstan is increasing oil exports via the Trans-Caspian route. In July, shipments of Kazakhstani oil through Aktau toward the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline reached 155,000 tons, up 11.5% year on year. In 2025, Kazakhstan exported 1.2 million tons through this route.
In addition, in July, Kazakhstan exported 286,000 tons of oil through the port of Ust-Luga, 360,000 tons through the port of Novorossiysk and sent 271,000 tons into the Caspian Pipeline Consortium system.
It is worth noting that Georgia previously served as a transit country for Kazakhstani oil and has now become a customer. Kazakhstani oil has passed through Georgia via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline for several years, but continued to the Turkish port of Ceyhan before reaching international markets. In 2024, 1.419 million tons of Kazakh crude passed through the BTC pipeline, followed by around 1.3 million tons in 2025.
Read also: Kazakhstan could resume oil supplies to Germany via Druzhba pipeline
