The 18th EU sanctions package against Russia, adopted in July 2025, also affected the STAR refinery in Turkey, which is owned by Azerbaijan.
Brussels confirmed that the plant is subject to the ban on refining Russian crude oil. According to EU Foreign Service spokesperson Anita Hipperi, the decision also applies to the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), which is a co-owner of STAR.
“The package adopted in July 2025 banned the import to the EU of products made from Russian crude oil in third countries. If such products are made at STAR or any other refinery, their access to the EU market will no longer be allowed,” Hipperi said.
According to her, the main goal of the sanctions is to reduce Russia’s oil revenues and prevent Russian crude oil from entering the EU market in any form.
According to her, the measure is aimed at “preventing Russian crude oil from entering the EU market in any form and is part of the EU’s strategy to further weaken Russia’s war-making capacity.”
Oil tankers regularly transported oil from the Russian port of Primorsk to the Turkish terminal of Nemrut, which is considered the “gateway” to the STAR plant.
In July 2024, the environmental organization Global Witness reported that most of the oil products (jet fuel, gasoline, diesel) produced by Star and delivered to the EU since the beginning of the year were likely of Russian origin. In the first quarter of last year, the refinery bought Russian oil for $1.2 billion. At the beginning of this year, Azerbaijani media reported, citing the director of Socar Turkiye Enerji Elchin Ibadov, that “the Star refinery is the largest oil refinery in Turkey. It covers 18% of Turkey’s needs for oil products
STAR has a contract with Litasco, the international trading arm of Russia’s LUKOIL, until at least 2027. Under this agreement, the refinery periodically purchases Urals at a discount. In 2023, SOCAR and LUKOIL signed a $1.5 billion loan agreement providing for the supply of Litasco oil to STAR from various LUKOIL fields through Baltic Sea ports, including Primorsk. This scheme is also calculated until 2027.
In July 2025, as part of a new sanctions package, individual Azerbaijani tankers were warned about loading Russian oil in Primorsk and delivering it to a number of refineries, including STAR
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