Turkey sharply reduced imports of Russian oil

The decline in supplies came amid US sanctions against Russian companies Lukoil and Rosneft, which reduced the pool of suppliers that Turkish refineries can work with, Reuters reports.

The EU's planned ban on the purchase of fuel produced from Russian oil, which will come into force at the end of January 2026, is prompting Turkish companies to diversify their sources of raw materials. As Urals supplies have declined, Turkey has increased imports of alternative oil grades, notably Kazakhstan's CPC Blend and KEBCO, as well as Iraq's Basrah.

However, the ability of Turkish refineries to make alternative purchases is limited due to low supply in the Mediterranean of crude oil similar in quality to Urals. The situation with CPC Blend supplies may be complicated by the recent attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal.

According to Kpler and LSEG, Urals supplies to Turkey decreased by 100,000 barrels per day compared to October, with total imports last month amounting to about 200,000 barrels per day. Since 2022, after European buyers stopped purchasing Russian oil, Turkey has become one of the largest importers of Urals, ranking second after India among maritime importers, according to LSEG data.

Photo: Ministry of Finance.