Around 16-17 mln tonnes of crude oil has passed through the Port of Kulevi Oil Terminal of Georgia, through which liquid freight is mainly transported, with this being substantially less than the amount of oil (2.1-2.5 mln tonnes) passed through it in 2014-15.
The Port of Kulevi Oil Terminal capacity is ten mln tons of oil load annually, with this implying that even its 20% has not yet been harnessed.
The oil terminal of Azerbaijan's SOCAR is located in the Kulevi Port. The SOCAR has started channeling investments in Georgia in 2006 and created thousands of jobs. Today, the Kulevi Oil Terminal, gas distribution networks, and filling stations function in Georgia.
In the first half of the previous year, SOCAR'S traffic in the Kulevi Port increased. In early-2020, the state-owned SOCAR processed 890,000 tonnes of oil products in the Black Sea oil terminal. In the same timeframe, oil through the Kulevi Port was not transported to Georgia; however, more than 890 tonnes of Azerbaijani oil products passed through it.
From May of 2008 to 1 July 2020, more than four mln tonnes of raw materials and more than 22.8 mln tonnes of oil products were transported through the port.
Kulevi is a small river port handling crude, petroleum products, and LPG. The SOCAR terminal in the Kulvi port started operations in May of 2008. The overall terminal capacity is ten mln of oil load (three mln tonnes of oil, three mln tonnes of diesel, and four mln tonnes of fuel) annually.
Notably, the EU-Georgia Business Council concluded at the 2020 Georgia-Azerbaijan Business Forum that free industrial zones may lead to more opportunities and cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan.
