A major fuel supplier in Turkey has told its wholesale customers it will raise diesel prices after Western sanctions on Russian oil companies led to supply issues and increased insurance and financing costs, according to a document seen by Reuters.
Turkey is highly dependent on diesel supply from Russia and has been the top importer of Russian diesel since 2022, when Western countries shunned Russian oil due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkish fuel supplier Guzel Enerji, owned by the country’s army pension fund Oyak, raised wholesale diesel prices as of November 3 citing sanctions imposed by the US against Russian oil majors Lukoil and Rosneft on October 22, according to a letter sent to its customers seen by Reuters.
Guzel Enerji, the fourth largest fuel retailer in Turkey in 2024, said in the document its diesel import costs had greatly increased due to the sanctions. The company declined to comment when asked about the document on Tuesday.
Fuel suppliers in Turkey have requested more diesel from local oil refineries Tupras and SOCAR, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, with some seeking non-Russian diesel cargoes to meet domestic demand, one said.
Tupras and SOCAR have been buying more non-Russian crude recently in response to the Western sanctions, Reuters reported over the weekend.
Turkish imports of diesel from Russia rose above 300,000 barrels per day in 2023 and 2024 from just 117,000 bpd in 2022, according to shipping data from Kpler. Brazil also ramped up its Russian diesel imports in that timeframe.
Turkey is a net diesel importer, with annual demand of around 534,000 bpd in 2024, according to data from its energy regulator EPDK.
Global trading firm Vitol owns Turkey’s biggest fuel retailer, Petrol Ofisi, while local conglomerate Koc Holding and oil major Shell own shares in separate joint-venture retailers in the country.
Russian oil producer Tatneft also owns a major fuel retailer in Turkey.
