In the first half of 2024, Western allies, including Bulgaria, the European Union and the United States, purchased around 2 billion dollars worth of oil products from Turkey that were refined from Russian crude oil, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and the Center for Energy and Clean Air (CREA). This trade continues despite sanctions, due to a loophole allowing Russian oil to enter these markets after being refined in another country, such as Turkey.

The report highlights that Russia’s oil and gas sector provided 32% of its federal budget in 2023, making it a crucial source of revenue for the Kremlin. In the first six months of 2024, significant amounts of oil products exported to the EU, including Bulgaria, as well as to the US, were processed at three Turkish refineries using Russian crude oil.

The CSD and its partners recommend that sanctioning countries prohibit the import of petroleum products from refineries processing Russian oil, as a way to tighten sanctions and discourage third countries from acting as intermediaries for Russian crude.

According to Politico, this scheme, although technically legal, enables the EU and its allies to continue purchasing Russian-origin fuel. The fuel, once refined in countries like Turkey, is no longer considered Russian under current regulations. The report also notes that this trade is profitable for companies and traders, but the savings do not benefit consumers.

The report provides an example involving the 'Star' refinery in Turkey, owned by Azerbaijan’s SOCAR, which processed nearly 100% Russian crude oil. A significant portion of this oil came from Lukoil, suggesting that oil from the Burgas refinery may have been diverted to Turkey and then exported back to European and US markets.

The report criticizes Bulgarian politicians for remaining silent on the issue of Lukoil’s dominance in the Bulgarian market, even after the end of a derogation. The analysis further points out that tax revenues collected by Russia from the sale of fuel to Western countries could fund the recruitment of thousands of additional soldiers for the war in Ukraine.