Turkey reduces Russian crude imports, turns to Brazil

Turkey is changing its oil import strategy by buying less crude oil from Russia and turning to new suppliers like Brazil. This shift comes after significant US sanctions targeting Russia. Turkey typically imports about 650,000 barrels of crude oil each day. This month, only 19% of that oil comes from Russia. This is a big drop from over 50% last year. The largest oil refiner in Turkey, Tupras, is taking steps to reduce its reliance on Russian oil. Recently, Tupras imported its first oil from Brazil. The shipment is currently on the tanker Joao Candido. This is noteworthy, as it is the first recorded import of Brazilian crude in Turkey since 2007. The changes follow sanctions imposed by the Biden administration in January, which have disrupted Russian oil supply chains. Tupras has also stopped accepting Russian oil shipments that do not meet a price cap set by the Group of Seven (G7) countries. Additionally, Brazil's state oil company, Petrobras, is selling a significant amount of oil, known as Itapu, to Turkey. This cargo will be delivered in early April. Turkey's other major refiner is Socar from Azerbaijan, which provided 29% of Turkey's crude imports last year. However, it is unclear how much of those imports came from Russia. Socar did not provide comments when asked.