Turkey is diversifying its crude oil supplies, notably beginning imports from Brazil, after its largest refinery reduced purchases of Russian oil following extensive U.S. sanctions.
According to data provided by analytics firm Vortexa Ltd. and compiled by Bloomberg, Russian crude accounted for just 19% of Turkey’s total imports of approximately 650,000 barrels per day this month, significantly down from more than 50% throughout last year.
Turkish refiner Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri AS (Tupras) has recently purchased a shipment of medium sweet crude oil from Brazil, marking Turkey’s first-ever import from the South American country according to government records dating back to 2007. This cargo is currently en route aboard the tanker Joao Candido, according to an anonymous source familiar with the transaction.
This shift reflects broader disruptions in Russian oil supply chains following the implementation of extensive sanctions by the Biden administration in January. Tupras announced plans in late February to cease accepting Russian oil shipments that fail to comply with the Group of Seven’s imposed price cap, as previously reported by Bloomberg. Additionally, Tupras confirmed it stopped acquiring Russia’s Urals crude oil variety.
Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras confirmed in a statement the sale of a 950,000-barrel shipment of Itapu oil, characterized by a 0.25% sulfur content, scheduled for delivery to Turkey in early April.
Tupras did not respond to requests for comment.
Turkey’s only other refiner, Azerbaijan’s state energy company Socar, represented 29% of Turkey’s crude imports last year, as per data from Turkey’s national energy regulator. However, the proportion of this figure sourced from Russia remains unclear. Socar did not respond to requests for comment.
