The Development Fund of Georgia will finance the Kulevi oil refinery with $8.2 million, according to a decree dated December 18 and signed by Kobakhidze. The refinery recently received its first shipment of Russian oil, Reuters reported on October 21.
The Kulevi refinery’s first stage is planned to process 1.2 million tons of oil per year, with gradual expansion to a capacity of 3 million tons. The project will be completed in four stages, with total construction costs estimated at $600 million. The first stage alone represents an investment of $130 million. Construction began in October 2024 in the village of Kulevi, Khobi Municipality, Georgia.
The idea to build an oil refinery in Kulevi dates back to 2012, when an investment agreement was signed between SOCAR of Azerbaijan and the Georgian government. However, that project was never implemented, and investors changed several times. The current construction is being carried out by Black Sea Petroleum LLC, which was founded in October 2022. The company’s primary business is oil refining and sales.
Until December 2024, Maka Asatiani owned 70% of Black Sea Petroleum LLC, while Trade Stone Iberia LLC held 30%. Trade Stone Iberia was itself 70% owned by Maka Asatiani and 30% by Sofio Tavartkiladze. On December 3, 2024, MK Capital LLC, owned by Maka Asatiani, became the 100% owner of Black Sea Petroleum LLC.
In February 2025, Dunamis LLC, owned by David Potskhveria, acquired a 29.34% stake in Black Sea Petroleum LLC. In exchange, Dunamis LLC contributed 911 million rubles (approximately 28.4 million GEL) to the company’s capital, increasing the total share capital of Black Sea Petroleum LLC to 96.8 million GEL.
Since February 2025, David Potskhveria has served as CEO of Black Sea Petroleum. The company’s Supervisory Board includes Vakhtang Chakhnashvili, Konstantine Gogelia (Maka Asatiani’s husband), and former Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili. Davitashvili resigned as minister on June 24, 2025, and joined Black Sea Petroleum on September 26.
