First Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development in Kulevi commented on the importance of a full-cycle oil refinery. At the briefing held in the government administration, Levan Davitashvili said that in this case, we are talking about a number of enterprises, which are created in Georgia by various support programs of the government, but also about an important large investment, which actually lays the foundation for a new industry.
"I am sure that this enterprise will be a central link and an oil refining and oil product production cluster will be formed here. Construction works are intensively going on in Kulevi, despite the difficult geography and geology. The company has a strategic location. It will have the opportunity to export products, as well as receive raw materials from various sources. It is very important to evaluate the advantage of our geographical location, because Georgia is at the intersection of important energy routes and is a country with an energy transit function. Oil and oil products from different countries are exported through Georgia," said Levan Davitashvili. According to him, Georgia is the gateway from which oil from the oil-producing countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus passes to the west, and, on the contrary, oil products enter the ports of Poti and Batumi.
"Our location is strategic. Therefore, the enterprise will not have a problem with providing raw materials. Of course, there are also preliminary agreements, but this is already a commercial part. All prerequisites exist for the enterprise to be competitive and successful. As for the products, the company will release many types of oil products, will be fully focused on import substitution, as well as development of export opportunities. There will be production of bitumen, which is in demand in our infrastructural construction work and therefore we have a lot of imports, and there will also be production of diesel and petrol. Everything will be in accordance with European standards. In accordance with the legislation of Georgia, we have high European environmental requirements regarding petroleum products. The Kulevi project will be developed in several phases. I am sure that in the end the company will develop to the level where it will be able to produce a variety of petrochemical products," said the First Vice Prime Minister.
