Turkmen Oil Flows Toward Kulevi – Strategic Strengthening of Georgia’s Transit Corridor

Through the Georgian corridor, via the Kulevi terminal, there is a stable annual transit potential of approximately 1.5 million tons of Turkmen oil products.
This prospect has emerged as a result of several key factors:

• The launch of a newly equipped oil terminal in the Turkmenbashi port has significantly increased the capacity for processing and transshipment.
• Azerbaijan’s implementation of an “open-door” policy, granting foreign cargo owners free access to the Kulevi terminal infrastructure, has facilitated the attraction of Turkmen shipments.
• Logistical disruptions caused by the Russia–Ukraine conflict, particularly the blockage of the traditional Volga–Don route and navigational risks in the Sea of Azov, have increased the strategic relevance of alternative routes—most notably, the Georgian corridor.

The Kulevi terminal, designed for an annual throughput capacity exceeding 10 million tons, had historically operated at only 20% capacity.
However, the new policy has changed that. In 2024, the terminal began receiving, on average, 40–50 thousand tons of Turkmen oil products and 20–30 thousand tons of Kazakh products per month, including gasoil, paraxylene, benzene, and fuel oil.

Additional infrastructure is also planned at Kulevi—to accommodate compressed gas and petrochemical cargoes, which will increase the terminal's annual cargo turnover from 2 to 4 million tons.

Geopolitical shifts and the development of regional transport infrastructure create a tangible opportunity for Turkmen oil product transit through Georgia.
This opportunity must be treated as a national priority, as it strengthens the country’s economic resilience and strategic position in the regional logistics landscape.