Georgia ready for consultations with EU on possible sanctions against port of Kulevi - PM
TBILISI. Feb 10 (Interfax) - Georgian authorities are prepared to consult with the European Union regarding sanctions against the port of Kulevi, where an oil terminal of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is located and construction is underway on Georgia's first oil refinery, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.
"Georgia strictly adheres to all regulations regarding the sanctions regime. Kulevi is a port of strategic importance to us. As for any specific questions that arise, we are prepared to answer them. This is a pressing issue of interest to us, and we once again express our readiness to consult with the EU on every detail. We are duly complying with the sanctions regime. This is our shared position," Kobakhidze told reporters when commenting on reports about possible sanctions against the port of Kulevi as part of the draft twentieth sanctions package against Russia, as quoted by the Georgian government's press service.
According to Georgian media, oil supplies from Russia to the Kulevi oil terminal resumed in late 2025, from where they were transported to the new Kulevi Oil Refinery terminal. At the time, Reuters reported that the Georgian refinery had begun processing oil from Russia's RussNeft oil company.
As previously reported, Georgia's first oil refinery, located near the SOCAR oil terminal in the port of Kulevi, is being built in Khobi Municipality, northwest Georgia, by the Georgian Black Sea Petrolium company, with total investment estimated at $700 million. The refinery, with initial capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of oil per year, was scheduled to begin operations in March 2025, but no official announcement has been made.
Georgian media have linked Black Sea Petrolium to Russian entrepreneur Konstantin Gogelia.
The SOCAR-owned terminal in the Georgian port of Kulevi, which is located in the eastern coastal part of the Black Sea near the village of Kulevi in the Khobi municipality, was commissioned in May 2008. Overall capacity of the terminal is 10 million tonnes of oil cargo per year.
