Georgia’s oil product exports surge after launch of new refinery

Georgia’s exports of oil and petroleum products rose sharply in January–May 2026, driven by the launch of a new refinery on the country’s Black Sea coast, according to data from the National Statistics Office (Geostat), as cited by bm.ge.

Exports of domestically produced petroleum products increased by 3,712.9% year-on-year to $352.2 million, making the category the largest component of Georgia’s domestic export basket, excluding re-exports, News.Az reports, citing News Georgia.

Including re-exports, total shipments reached $366.6 million, with a physical volume of 534,300 tonnes. The main export destinations were Togo ($96.9 million), Türkiye ($64.2 million) and China ($61.9 million), followed by Libya ($35.3 million), Algeria ($25.1 million), Malta ($19.7 million), Morocco ($16.8 million), Armenia ($13 million), Singapore ($11.9 million) and the United Arab Emirates ($11.8 million).

The surge is linked to the launch of the Black Sea Petroleum refinery in the coastal settlement of Kulevi at the end of 2025. The project has effectively placed Georgia on the map of petroleum-product exporters despite the country lacking large-scale domestic crude oil production.

At the start of 2026, media reports suggested the European Union was considering possible sanctions related to operations at the Kulevi port over alleged handling of Russian oil, though the proposed restrictions were not adopted.

Before the refinery began operations, Georgia’s monthly petroleum product exports stood at only $1.5–2 million. However, they rose to $30.1 million in November 2025 and $31.9 million in December.

Petroleum product exports include not only petrol, diesel and kerosene, but also lubricants, bitumen, paraffins and petrochemical feedstocks.

Overall, Georgia’s foreign trade turnover reached $10.4 billion in January–May 2026, up 3.7% year-on-year. Exports increased by 19.8% to $3.1 billion, while imports fell by 1.9% to $7.3 billion. Despite export growth, the trade deficit remained significant at $4.2 billion, accounting for 40.5% of total turnover.

News.Az