Turkey has doubled its imports of Russian oil this year as the two countries are set to cooperate more in business and especially in energy trade, Reuters reported, citing data from Refinitiv Eikon.

Turkey has increased its imports of oil from Russia, including Urals and Siberian Light varieties, by more than 200,000 bpd this year, compared to 98,000 bpd in the same period in 2021.

Turkey has not imposed sanctions against Russia, saying it remains dependent on energy supplies from Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan met in early August and agreed to intensify business cooperation.

The data showed that major Turkish refineries Tupras and Azerbaijani refinery SOCAR STAR have significantly increased their consumption of Russian Urals and Siberian Light oil this year, while reducing purchases of North Sea, Iraqi and West African grades.

Over the past few years, the STAR refinery has increased its purchases of Norwegian Johan Sverdrup oil and Iraqi oil, close in quality to Urals, as Russian oil has risen in price.

This year, Russian oil prices have fallen to historic lows against the outdated Brent benchmark, while North Sea and Iraqi oil prices have improved.

The STAR refinery is expected to purchase about 90,000 bpd of oil from Russia between January and August 2022, compared to 48,000 bpd in the same period last year, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

According to the data, the Tupras refineries will be purchasing about 111,000 bpd of oil from Russia from January to August this year, compared to 45,000 bpd in the same period last year.

He added that the good refining margin of Urals oil supported the profits of Turkish refineries.