Georgia to build oil refinery factory at Black Sea

Georgia is planning to build an oil refinery factory at its Black Sea coastal town of Poti, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Dimitri Kumsishvili said today.

The announcement came in response to the statement of former Oil Corporation president Giorgi Chanturia, who said an oil refinery factory was earmarked to be built in Supsa, another of Georgia's coastal towns.

Kumsishvili clarified Chanturia's statement and noted the factory would be built in Poti not Supsa and relevant documentation had been uploaded on the websites of Economy and Energy ministries.

"We are expecting investors’ interest regarding this project. As for Mr Chanturia’s statement, these are his announcements. Therefore, if we, the Georgian Government wanted to announce the construction in Supsa we would do it but we announced it in Poti,” he said.

In terms of features, Kumsishvili noted the factory should have processing capacity of at least two million tonnes of crude oil and should release its first products in early 2019.

When asked whether the Russian side expressed any interest in the project, Kumsishvili answered: "I have not had a single meeting with any Russian sides”.

According to Russian media, Georgia planned to build a large energy hub in collaboration with the Russian side in Supsa.

Russian website sukhum-moscow.ru claimed the energy hub would be a "friendship bridge” between the Southern Caucasus, Russia and Europe.