Reuters reported the information.Turkey sharply cut its imports of Russia's flagship Urals crude oil in November, with shipments falling by 100,000 barrels per day from October to around 200,000 bpd, according to shipping data from energy consultancy Kpler and LSEG.The decline marks a significant shift for Turkey, which has emerged as one of the largest buyers of Russian crude since 2022, when European purchasers halted their imports following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Turkey has ranked as the second-biggest buyer of Urals after India among seaborne importers, LSEG data shows.The reduction comes as U.S. sanctions targeting Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft have limited the pool of suppliers available to Turkish refiners. Additionally, the European Union's planned ban on purchasing fuel produced from Russian oil, scheduled to take effect at the end of January 2026, is pushing Turkish companies to diversify their crude sources.To offset declining Urals shipments, Turkey has increased imports of alternative grades, including Kazakhstan's CPC Blend and KEBCO, as well as Iraq's Basrah crude. In November, Turkey imported 105,000 bpd of CPC Blend—the highest level since February 2024, according to Kpler data.CPC Blend, while loaded from Russia's port of Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka, is predominantly produced by Kazakh companies and remains exempt from Western energy sanctions on Russian oil. Turkey had imported some Russian-origin CPC Blend earlier in 2024 but ceased such purchases in September.Turkish refineries face constraints in sourcing alternatives, however, as the supply of crude similar in quality to Urals remains limited on the Mediterranean market. The situation could become more complicated following a recent attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, which handles CPC Blend shipments.Turkey's Urals imports had reached a multi-month peak of nearly 400,000 bpd in June before beginning their decline.On Wednesday, October 22, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, due to Moscow’s lack of readiness to end the war in Ukraine.