Drone attack halts operations at Gazprom's plant in Astrakhan, says Reuters

The Astrakhan gas processing plant owned by Russia’s energy giant Gazprom suspended the production of motor fuel on 22 September after a fire caused by a drone attack.

Source: Reuters, citing three industry sources

Details: The fire engulfed a condensate processing unit with an annual capacity of 3 million tonnes, which produces petrol and diesel. The facility is located on the Caspian Sea, 1,675 km (1,040 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Restarting operations could take weeks or even months.

Gazprom has not provided comments. Astrakhan Oblast Governor Igor Babushkin confirmed on Telegram that drones had attacked an industrial facility without naming it. The St Petersburg Commodity Exchange suspended the sale of wholesale fuel from the plant starting Monday.

In February, the plant was also hit by drones and only resumed production at the end of August. In 2024, the plant processed 1.8 million tonnes of stable condensate, producing about 800,000 tonnes of gasoline, 600,000 tonnes of diesel and 300,000 tonnes of fuel oil.

Background: On the night of 19-20 September, Ukrainian forces struck Russian strategic facilities in Saratov and Samara oblasts.

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