Reuters: One Of The Largest Buyers Of Russian Oil Cuts Imports To A Minimum

• 27.05.2026, 20:27

What caused it.

Turkey plans to cut purchases of Russian Urals crude in May to the lowest level in the last year and a half.

This is reported by Reuters.

According to analytical companies Kpler and LSEG, Turkey's Urals oil imports in May will average about 161,000 barrels per day. For comparison, in January-April this figure amounted to 189,000 barrels, and in May last year - 302,000 barrels.

Market sources note that Ankara is used to large discounts on raw materials from Russia and is not yet ready to buy oil at higher prices. In addition, the drop in supplies was influenced by growing demand in Asia, particularly in India, where Russia is actively redirecting its resources.

Turkey remains the world's third largest importer of oil from Russia after India and China. The country mainly buys Urals grade.

But now the Turkish side partially compensates for the reduction of these supplies by increasing imports of CPC blend from the Caspian region. This oil grade is supplied to the market both from Russia and Kazakhstan.