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Resource Extraction from Occupied Donbas: The Mariupol Coal Export Scheme
TOT Insights · Ukraine and Russia Programme · CSNS / King's College London

Resource Extraction from Occupied Donbas: The Mariupol Coal Export Scheme

Last updated: May 2026

Three analytical visualisations from the TOT Insights investigation into the George Oil agreement, Mariupol port transformation, and the emerging sanctions circumvention scheme for exporting looted coal from occupied Donetsk.

Source investigation: ANALYTICAL_BRIEF_G, TOT Insights Hub, 2026  ·  Click any node to expand detail

1Event sequence

The Deal and Its Infrastructure: A Four-Day Coincidence

The agreement between the "DPR" government and Georgian company George Oil was not an isolated business deal. Within four days of the signing, a RUB 441 million dredging tender was published for Mariupol's Coal Harbour - deepening the channel for vessels carrying larger tonnage.1 Within five days, a new legal entity (George Oil Plus) was registered in Batumi.2 The speed and sequencing of these events indicates coordinated preparation, not spontaneous commercial activity.10

Event sequence: George Oil deal and Mariupol port infrastructure, September 2025 to April 2026 Timeline showing the coordinated sequence from initial contact at the Eastern Economic Forum in September 2025 through the George Oil signing on 19 March 2026, the dredging tender on 20 March, George Oil Plus registration on 24 March, and satellite confirmation of coal stockpiles. BACKGROUND CONTACT September 2025 Eastern Economic Forum - first contact between George Oil and Russia Congress of Industrialists: cooperation memorandum with George Oil THE CRITICAL WINDOW - 5 DAYS 19 March 2026 George Oil director signs cooperation agreements in Donetsk with "DPR" government Covers coking coal extraction and transport through Mariupol port 20 March 2026 - one day later Electronic auction: dredging works on Coal Harbour channel, Mariupol RUB 441.34 million · 400,000m³ soil removal · deadline: May–October 2026 24 March 2026 - five days after signing George Oil Plus LLC registered in Batumi, Georgia (Seaside Street 4) Director/owner: George Oil director - separate legal structure Sanctions circumvention: foreign private trader as intermediary INDEPENDENT CONFIRMATION March–April 2026 Reuters satellite images: coal stockpiles and dome storage, Mariupol TOT Insights partner monitoring: coal on quays; railway wagon repair base established Sep 25 19 Mar 20 Mar 24 Mar Mar–Apr

Click any event to expand analytical detail

Dredging tender: Russian federal procurement portal.1 George Oil Plus: Georgian National Agency of Public Registry.2 Coal stockpiles and dome storage: Reuters satellite investigation, March 2026.5 Field monitoring: Centre for the Study of Occupation.4 EEF cooperation memorandum.9

2Infrastructure

Mariupol Port Transformation: From Commercial Port to Colonial Raw-Material Terminal

Russia is systematically converting Mariupol Commercial Sea Port into a dedicated export terminal for looted raw materials. The conversion involves five interlocking infrastructure elements, each documented in the investigation. Taken together they describe a port being purpose-built for permanent bulk export operations - not temporary logistics.10

Mariupol port transformation into a colonial raw-material export terminal Structural diagram showing five elements of Mariupol port transformation: Coal Harbour dredging for larger vessels, open-quay coal accumulation zones, new dome bulk cargo storage, railway wagon repair base, and long-term 2040 development plan - all converging on the function of permanent coal and raw material export. Mariupol Commercial Sea Port Under systematic conversion to coal and raw-material export terminal, 2022–2040 Coal Harbour dredging 400,000m³ soil removed Channel deepened for larger-tonnage vessels Open-quay coal accumulation Coking coal delivered and stored directly on quays as open accumulation zones New dome bulk-cargo storage Confirmed by Reuters satellite imagery Permanent enclosed storage capacity Railway wagon repair base First RZD-livery passenger wagon repaired within port territory - military-industrial base Long-term development plan: Mariupol port to 2040 Regular dredging · new terminals · warehouse reconstruction · energy infrastructure · customs zone Indicative of preparation for permanent export operations, not temporary logistics
Assessed function: The Mariupol port is being converted into a Russian industrial-military base with the primary function of exporting raw materials extracted from occupied Donetsk. The combination of deepened access channels, bulk storage infrastructure, and a 14-year development horizon is consistent with permanent export terminal status, not temporary military logistics.

Click any element to expand analytical detail

Field monitoring: Centre for the Study of Occupation.4 Dredging tender: Russian federal procurement portal.1 Dome storage and coal stockpiles: Reuters satellite investigation, March 2026.5 Port 2040 plan: occupation-administration source.6

3Sanctions circumvention

The Export Scheme: Extracted Resources from Occupied Territory to Foreign Markets via Georgian Intermediary

The structure of the George Oil arrangement follows a pattern documented across multiple occupied-territory resource extraction schemes: looted raw materials are channelled through a foreign private intermediary company, creating legal distance between the occupation extractors and the end markets.10 George Oil director confirmed coal is only the first resource of interest - grain, sunflower, and salt from the region are also targets.7 In 2025, the director drew public attention in Georgia after insulting the German ambassador and his wife in Batumi and was fined 1,000 GEL over the incident.7

George Oil export scheme: looted Donbas coal routed through Georgian intermediary to Turkey and India Flow diagram showing extraction of coking coal from occupied Donetsk, transport to Mariupol port, sale to Georgian company George Oil Ltd acting as foreign intermediary, then onward export to Turkey, India, and potentially Georgia. A second lane shows the same scheme extending to grain, sunflower, and salt. The structure creates legal distance and serves as a sanctions circumvention mechanism. PRIMARY SCHEME - COKING COAL DECLARED FUTURE EXPANSION Coal extraction Occupied Donetsk oblast Mariupol port Coal Harbour - maritime export George Oil Ltd Georgian intermediary Reg. Tbilisi 2015 · George Oil director Turkey India Georgia (use) Creates legal distance from occupation George Oil Plus LLC registered Batumi 24 March 2026 - separate structure for new scheme Future resources Grain · sunflower · salt Confirmed by George Oil director Same port channel Mariupol port infrastructure Same intermediary George Oil / George Oil Plus (scalable scheme) Contact mechanism: Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Vladivostok - platform for Russian-foreign private business contact 75 countries in 2025, including businesses from states whose governments publicly distance themselves from Russia

Click any node to expand analytical detail

Field monitoring: Centre for the Study of Occupation.4 George Oil Ltd and George Oil Plus: Georgian National Agency of Public Registry.32 George Oil director: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty interview.7 Andrey Chertkov (DPR Deputy Prime Minister, UK sanctions-listed) statement.8 Dredging tender: Russian federal procurement portal.1

Notes

  1. Russian state procurement records (zakupki.gov.ru), electronic auction announced 20 March 2026, initial contract value 441.34 million rubles.
  2. Georgian National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR), George Oil Plus LLC, Batumi (4 Seaside Street), registered 24 March 2026; director and sole owner (100%): George Oil director.
  3. Georgian National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR), George Oil Ltd (სფს ჯორჯ ოილი), Tbilisi (Old Tbilisi district, Sanapiro Street 2a, apt. 21), registered 18 September 2015; identification number 404501133; director and co-owner (50%).
  4. Centre for the Study of Occupation, field monitoring, Mariupol, 2026. Findings include: coal delivered and stored on quays as open accumulation zones; railway wagon repair base established within port territory; first Russian Railways (RZD)-livery wagon recorded in port; port assessed as being converted into a raw-material export terminal.
  5. Reuters, satellite investigation, Mariupol port, March 2026, via Kyiv Post, kyivpost.com. Identified large stockpiles of material resembling coal and a new dome structure for bulk cargo storage; two port employees confirmed vessels regularly carry grain and coal.
  6. Russian occupation administration (DPR / Russian Federation), Mariupol port long-term development plan to 2040. Occupation-administration source; no archive confirmed. [FLAG: source publication name, date, and Wayback Machine permalink required before publication.]
  7. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (Georgian Service), interview with George Oil director, 26 March 2026, radiotavisupleba.ge. Director confirmed interest in Donbas coal, plans to resell to Turkey and India, and future interest in grain, sunflower, and salt from the region.
  8. Andrey Chertkov (DPR Deputy Prime Minister), statement describing the George Oil agreement as a continuation of dialogue initiated at the Eastern Economic Forum, 2026. Occupation-administration source; no archive confirmed. UK sanctions listing: search-uk-sanctions-list.service.gov.uk/designations/RUS3156/Individual. [FLAG: statement date and Wayback Machine permalink required before publication.]
  9. Cooperation memorandum announced at the Eastern Economic Forum, Vladivostok, September 2025 (Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of the Asia-Pacific Region).
  10. TOT Insights analysis. Conclusions regarding coordinated preparation, sanctions-circumvention architecture, and port-conversion function are TOT Insights assessments derived from the sourced evidence above.
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