The Azerbaijani state-owned STAR Refinery in Turkey has begun reducing purchases of Russian oil following increased Western sanctions against some of Russia’s largest oil producers, Reuters has reported, citing sources. STAR is jointly owned by the government and the state-run energy giant SOCAR.
In October, in its first new package of sanctions against Russia since President Donald Trump’s second term began, the US targeted Rosneft and Lukoil. The new measures coincided with the EU’s 19th sanctions package against Russia since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — one of the elements of the new package was a complete ban on transactions with the state-run energy giant Gazprom.
The combined measures appear to have already had an impact, with Lukoil stating it will begin selling off its overseas assets — likely including its network of petrol stations in Georgia.
When asked by a journalist from the business-focused media outlet BMG in October if the sanctions on Lukoil would extend to the Georgian subsidiary, MP Shota Berekashvili said ‘Georgia has joined and adhered to all international sanctions’, although conceded he did not have the specific details about Lukoil Georgia.
The reporting by Reuters on Monday further suggests that the sanctions may be causing third-party countries and companies — such as SOCAR — to be increasingly wary of buying Russian oil.
The sources said that the STAR refinery had recently purchased four cargoes of crude oil from Kazakhstan, Iraq, and other non-Russian sources. Previously, Russian crude oil made up the bulk of purchases by the STAR refinery.
Prior to the new sanctions, OC Media reported in September, citing sources, that the July 2025 sanctions package had been extended to the STAR refinery.
At the same time, there are other signs that Azerbaijani cooperation with Russia in the fossil fuel industry will continue in some form.
In late October, the heads of SOCAR and Gazprom met in Saint Petersburg to discuss expanding business opportunities.
Some Russian media outlets speculated that SOCAR’s Rovshan Najaf and Gazprom’s Aleksei Miller may have discussed possible projects to send Russian natural gas to Iran through Azerbaijan, following a memorandum of understanding on the same issue that was signed in June 2024. Two months later, coinciding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Azerbaijan, Gazprom and SOCAR signed an expanded cooperation agreement.
Aytan Farhadova
