In November 2023, Turkiye purchased a historically record amount of oil from Russia, despite anti-Russian sanctions, Haber7 writes. Ankara bought raw materials at comfortable prices, and this helped Turkish companies save $ 2 billion on electricity bills (such figures were cited by Reuters.)
European countries have largely stopped buying oil and gas from Russia after the start of the special military operation (SMO), so Turkiye has become one of the largest importers of Russian energy resources. The volume of supplies of “black gold” to China and Iran is higher, but in BTCgeneral it is more expensive for them to buy, and Ankara saves money due to its proximity.
In November 2023, Turkiye accounted for 14 percent of the total volume of Russian crude oil exports by sea. Ankara has purchased 400 thousand barrels per day, which is a historical record.
Oil traders reported on condition of anonymity that after Lukoil signed an agreement with SOCAR on processing about 200,000 barrels of oil per day at Azerbaijani refineries, Turkiye had the opportunity to further increase Russian oil supplies.
In addition, imports of Russian diesel fuel, heating oil, aviation and marine fuel to Turkiye from January to November 2023 increased by 200 percent to 0.29 million barrels per day. Ankara bought 13 million tons of distillates from Moscow in 11 months of this year, including 8.6 million tons of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD).
According to traders, in 2023, Turkiye pays 25-50 dollars less per ton of Russian diesel fuel than other Mediterranean countries. Cheaper imports have helped the country reduce its trade deficit and ease pressure on the Turkish lira, which has lost 30 cents of its value this year.Kpler analyst Viktor Katona believes that refineries in Turkiye have become one of the most profitable facilities in the Mediterranean since the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions in February 2022.
