Reuters: Oil refining across central Russia disrupted after Ukrainian drone strikes

Oil refining activity across central Russia has come to a standstill or been significantly reduced following a series of Ukrainian drone strikes in recent days, Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the situation.

The sources said virtually all major refineries in the region have been forced to halt or scale back fuel production, with the combined capacity of the affected facilities exceeding 83 million metric tonnes per year, or around 238,000 tonnes per day.

It accounts for roughly a quarter of Russia’s total refining capacity.

The refineries are also responsible for more than 30% of gasoline output and around 25% of diesel production.

The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation did not respond to a request for comment.

Russia has already imposed a gasoline export ban running from April through the end of July.

Ukraine has intensified drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, with the number of targeted oil refineries reportedly doubling since the start of the year, according to posts by Russian officials and social media accounts.

The attacks, which have also hit pipelines and storage facilities, are said to have reduced Russia’s oil output, placing additional pressure on federal revenues, where oil and gas taxes account for roughly a quarter of the budget.

Among the facilities affected are the Kirishi refinery in western Russia, the Moscow oil refinery, and plants in Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan and Yaroslavl.

The Kirishi refinery, one of Russia’s largest with a capacity of around 20 million tonnes per year, has reportedly been fully shut since 5 May, according to the sources.

Another major facility, Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez (NORSI), with an annual capacity of 17 million tonnes, was struck on 20 May. It remains unclear whether it has resumed partial operations.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov