Lukoil's Largest Refinery Has Shut Down

He was attacked by drones.

The "Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez" Oil Refinery (NORSI) has halted oil refining following an attack by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to Reuters, citing two industry sources.

Lukoil’s largest refinery, which ranks fourth in Russia in terms of capacity and second in gasoline production, came under attack on Wednesday, June 24. As a result, the plant’s AVT-5 primary refining unit—which accounts for 25% of the facility’s capacity—was damaged, the sources told Reuters.

Starting Wednesday, NORSI suspended the sale of wholesale lots of gasoline and diesel fuel on the St. Petersburg Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange. According to Reuters sources, the refinery plans to increase the utilization of other facilities and gradually resume operations without the damaged unit.

Capable of refining 15 million metric tons of crude oil and producing 5 million metric tons of gasoline annually, NORSI became the fifth Russian refinery to halt production in June. On June 16, Gazprom Neft’s Moscow refinery ceased operations; according to Reuters sources, repairs there could drag on until 2027. Tatneft’s Taneco refinery in Nizhnekamsk has been idle since June 12; the Kuibyshev refinery halted operations on June 10, and the Volgograd refinery on June 1. The latter two are owned by Rosneft.

Due to drone attacks, gasoline production in Russia had fallen by 25% year-over-year by the end of June—to 85,000 metric tons per day, according to Reuters. This is more than 20% below demand during the summer months, which reaches 110,000 metric tons per day.

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