Israel today gets almost all of its oil from imports, and those imports are quite diversified across regions, with a clear tilt toward Azerbaijan and the broader Caspian and Atlantic basins.

Quick Scoop: Israel’s Oil Suppliers

Core idea

Israel no longer relies on nearby Arab producers in any central way; instead, it buys most of its crude on the open market from a mix of ex‑Soviet, African, and South American exporters, plus some indirect Gulf flows.

Main crude oil sources

Most of Israel’s crude goes to the Ashdod and Haifa refineries, supplied by seaborne tankers docking at Ashkelon, Ashdod, Haifa, and sometimes Eilat. Key current suppliers:

  • Azerbaijan (Caspian region)
    • Crude is shipped via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to Ceyhan in Turkey, then loaded onto tankers to Israel.
    • In recent years Azerbaijan has been Israel’s single largest supplier, accounting for roughly 40–50% of total crude imports (around 46% in 2025 by one dataset), making it the dominant source.
  • Russia and Kazakhstan (via Black Sea routes)
    • Russian and Kazakh crude move through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system to Black Sea ports such as Novorossiysk, then are shipped by tanker to Israeli ports.
    • Russia has recently been the second‑largest supplier, around the high‑20% range of Israel’s imports in 2025.
  • West Africa and Brazil
    • Israel also buys from West African producers like Nigeria, Angola, and Gabon, and from Brazil , typically in smaller but still significant shares.
    • In 2024, for example, imports came “primarily” from Azerbaijan, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Angola, and Nigeria, highlighting this Atlantic basin role.
  • Smaller / indirect Middle East flows
    • A smaller portion appears to come indirectly from Saudi Arabia and potentially other Gulf producers via the Egyptian SUMED pipeline , with oil loaded at Sidi Kerir on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast and then shipped on to Israel.
    • These flows are modest compared to Caspian and Russian volumes.

Here is a simplified snapshot of recent crude sources:

Source region / countryRole in Israel’s crude supply
AzerbaijanLargest single supplier, roughly ~40–50% of imports in recent years via BTC to Ceyhan then tankers to Israel.
RussiaSecond‑largest supplier, around high‑20% share in some 2025 data, shipped via Black Sea ports.
KazakhstanPart of core Caspian slate via CPC, important but smaller than Azerbaijan.
Nigeria, Angola, GabonWest African barrels, intermittently significant shares.
BrazilNotable Atlantic basin supplier in 2024.
Saudi Arabia / other Gulf via SUMEDSmaller, mostly indirect flows via Egypt’s Sidi Kerir terminal.

Refined products and “hidden” flows

Israel also imports refined and intermediate products , not just crude:

  • It buys intermediate feedstocks such as Russian vacuum gasoil (VGO) for upgrading into jet fuel and diesel.
  • Refined products (diesel, gasoline, jet fuel) arrive from a range of global trading hubs and can be re‑exported from Israel’s ports thanks to its location near the Suez route.
  • Some shipments, especially via Ceyhan, reportedly turn off AIS tracking or spoof destinations , so a portion of trade does not show up clearly in standard datasets.

This “grey zone” behavior makes precise percentages fluid, but the overall pattern—Azerbaijan first, then Russia/Caspian, then West Africa/Atlantic and a small Middle East component—remains consistent across analyses.

Why not just from neighbors?

Historically, Arab producers like Saudi Arabia and others in the region participated in embargoes or politically conditioned energy ties, so Israel systematically diversified away from direct dependence on nearby states.

  • The modern global oil market is highly liquid; Israel can source oil from multiple continents as long as ports like Ashkelon, Haifa, and Eilat remain secure.
  • As of the mid‑2020s, the Caspian–Black Sea–Mediterranean axis plus Atlantic suppliers (Brazil, West Africa) are much more important than direct Gulf flows.

TL;DR

  • Israel gets most of its oil from Azerbaijan , Russia , Kazakhstan , West African producers , and Brazil , with only smaller, more indirect flows from Gulf states via Egypt.
  • The oil arrives mainly by tanker to Ashkelon, Haifa, and sometimes Eilat, fed by big transit systems like the BTC and CPC pipelines and the SUMED line.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.