Türkiye is set to cut imports of Russia's Urals crude from Baltic and Black Sea ports this month to the lowest level in almost one and a half years, according to data from LSEG, Kpler and trading sources. Türkiye is the largest importer of seaborne Russian crude in the Mediterranean and the world's third-largest after India and China. It mainly buys Urals and only occasionally other grades. Kpler data shows Türkiye's Urals imports are expected to average about 161,000 barrels per day this month, down from 189,000 bpd on average in January-April and 302,000 bpd in May 2025. The drop comes despite reduced crude supply from the Gulf, which has pushed global oil prices higher. "Türkiye is used to Russian crude at a significant discount. They were not prepared to buy the grade at such high price levels," a trader at a major Western firm said. Two other sources said the fall in Urals shipments to Türkiye in April and May was driven by stronger demand in Asia, particularly in India. "There was not much available in the market,” one trader said. As a result, seaborne Urals exports to Türkiye are set to fall to their lowest since at least January 2025, LSEG data shows. The decline is partly offset by higher Turkish imports of CPC Blend from the Caspian region, a grade sourced from both Russia and Kazakhstan depending on the cargo. Following the outbreak of the Iran war, the premium for Urals on a delivered ex-ship basis in Indian ports rose as high as $8 per barrel against Brent, before easing to about $2 to $4 per barrel. That remains well above levels seen before the conflict. Russia increased crude loadings from its western ports by around 9% in the first half of May to 2.35 million to 2.4 million bpd from about 2.2 million bpd on average in April.
