After an attack by Ukrainian drones, the Russian oil refinery NORSI in the Nizhny Novgorod region has partially suspended its operations.
This is one of the largest Russian refineries owned by Lukoil, Reuters reports, citing industry sources.
According to the agency, the strike has disabled the main crude oil distillation unit, CDU-6. This unit accounts for more than half of the refinery's capacity.
“The shutdown of CDU-6 will lead to a sharp reduction in refining volumes“, the sources said.
The NORSI refinery has a capacity to process up to 16 million tons of oil per year – approximately 320,000 barrels per day. The CDU-6 unit was processing approximately 190,000 barrels per day.
Amid the Ukrainian attacks, Russia has already faced problems at several major oil refineries in the central part of the country. Reuters reports that many refineries have been forced to reduce production or temporarily stop working.
The governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, earlier confirmed a fire at an industrial facility after the attack.
In turn, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported a strike on an oil refinery near the city of Kstovo, about 450 kilometers from Moscow.
According to Reuters, key refineries in central Russia have stopped working after the Ukrainian strikes. The total capacity of the refineries that have completely or partially stopped working exceeds 83 million metric tons per year, or approximately 238,000 tons per day. This represents approximately a quarter of Russia's total oil refining capacity.
Also, in the city of Syzran in Russia's Samara region, an oil refinery was attacked on the night of May 21. Samara region governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev announced that a "carpet" regime had been declared in the region due to the threat of attacks by Ukrainian drones. The drone attack in Syzran killed two people and injured others.