Private Russian oil producer Lukoil will lend the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) $1.5 billion as part of a broader deal that will allow SOCAR's 200,000-barrel-per-day Turkish STAR refinery to process Russian crude again, three industry sources familiar with the deal said on Thursday, APA reports citing Reuters.
The deal will give Lukoil another customer in close proximity to Russian ports after most European refiners stopped importing its crude to comply with European Union sanctions imposed after Moscow launched what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine in 2022.
Türkiye has not imposed sanctions on Russia and continues to import Russian oil and gas.
The STAR refinery, however, had to cut Russian crude imports this summer due to complications arising from international financial restrictions on business with Moscow.
The refinery decreased imports of Urals oil earlier this year before completely suspending purchases in August-September, replacing it with Kazakhstan's KEBCO oil which is of a similar quality and still loaded from Russian ports, according to LSEG Eikon data.
Lukoil will start delivering Urals to STAR from October and is expected to supply some 100,000 bpd, equivalent to half of the plant's capacity, the sources said.
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