As the company noted, the switch to non-Russian raw materials will open up access to high-margin foreign markets for the plant’s products.
According to data from the operator cited by Newsgeorgia, the plant processed more than 650,000 metric tons of crude oil in the first half of 2026. In the first quarter of 2027, Black Sea Petroleum plans to begin producing road bitumen for domestic and international markets, and starting in the second quarter, it will begin producing jet fuel.
The company announced an expansion of its cooperation with the American industrial conglomerate Honeywell. In addition to engineering and licensing agreements, the partnership now includes the supply of equipment and the implementation of automated production control systems.
It is worth recalling that in February of this year, the European Union considered imposing sanctions against a number of third-country ports, including the terminal in Kulevi, due to operations involving Russian oil. However, the Georgian refinery was subsequently excluded from the draft sanctions list.
The publication notes that the refinery in Kulevi was commissioned at the end of 2024. The project is being implemented with the participation of the state-owned Georgian Development Fund and “Kartu Bank,” owned by Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the ruling “Georgian Dream” party. The first phase of the facility is designed to process up to 1.2 million metric tons of crude oil per year, with the potential to increase capacity to 4 million metric tons. The total investment in the project is estimated at approximately $600 million.
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