Ukrainian drone attacks halt operations at two Rosneft refineries in Russia

Syzran and Saratov oil refineries belonging to Rosneft, a major Russian state-controlled oil and gas company, have halted crude oil processing following drone attacks.

Source: Reuters citing three industry sources

Details: Several facilities at the Syzran refinery were damaged, including its main CDU-6 crude distillation unit, which has a capacity of 17,100 tonnes per day. The unit accounts for about 71% of the refinery's capacity and repairs could take at least a month.

The second unit, CDU-5, with a capacity of 7,100 tonnes per day and accounting for the remaining 29% of processing, was already undergoing repairs following an earlier attack in July when the latest strike occurred.

The Saratov refinery has also not managed to restore stable operations. The plant shut down on 8 September after equipment was damaged and fires broke out following a drone strike. It was preparing to resume processing on 10-11 September but was attacked again. The refinery had already been out of operation for several weeks in August.

The Syzran refinery has a design capacity of 8.5 million tonnes of crude oil a year, while the Saratov refinery can process 7 million tonnes. Together, the two plants have a combined annual processing capacity of about 15.5 million tonnes.

Background:

• By the end of August, Russia was facing a petrol shortfall of about one-third following Ukrainian strikes on its refineries. Domestic production covered about 70% of summer consumption levels and around 85% when imports were included.
• In July, Ukraine's defence forces reported a strike on the Syzran refinery.

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