Largest oil refinery in southern Russia shut down after Ukrainian drone strike

The Novoshakhtinsk Oil Products Processing Plant, the largest in southern Russia, has shut down both primary oil refining units following an attack by Ukrainian drones.

Source: Russian online newspaper The Moscow Times with reference to Reuters

Details: The only plant in Russia’s Rostov Oblast with a capacity of 5.6 million tonnes of oil per year was attacked by Ukrainian drones on the night of 18-19 December, after which a large fire broke out at the facility.

The attack hit the 7,140-tonne-per-day AVT-2.5-2 unit, which accounts for 50% of the plant's capacity. As a result, it had to be shut down in an emergency, the agency sources say.

According to the sources, an oil product tank caught fire, and the second primary processing unit, which had a similar capacity of 7,140 tonnes per day, was shut down.

Launched in 2009 and the first major refinery to be built in Russia from scratch in 30 years, the Novoshakhtinsk refinery has shut down production for the third time since the beginning of the year.

It was first attacked by drones in March and then in June. As a result, the refinery's output fell sharply: in January-October, it processed 2.7 million tonnes of oil, compared to 4.8 million tonnes last year.

Overall, in January-December, Russian refineries lost 41.1 million tonnes, or 13% of their capacity, due to downtime caused by drone attacks and difficulties with repairs due to Western sanctions.

Background:

• Earlier, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the attack on the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Rostov Oblast. It was noted that it was used to meet the needs of the Russian Armed Forces.
• At least three Russian oil refineries have been forced to stop refining or cut production due to significant losses amid export restrictions, rising oil prices and high borrowing costs.

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