Russia’s Key Drone-Hit Refinery to Finish Repairs Ahead of Time
(Bloomberg) -- Russia’s major Volgograd refinery aims to resume operations at its drone-hit crude-processing units nearly a week earlier than initially planned amid a fuel crunch.
The Lukoil PJSC-owned facility, among the 10 largest in Russia, was attacked by drones twice during the past two weeks and had to halt oil intake on Aug. 15 after one of the latest hits. The Volgograd plant initially estimated the repairs of its three damaged processing units — which make up around 90% of its refining capacity — would take about a month, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It now plans to restart operations by Sept. 10, the person said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Lukoil didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on repairs at the Volgograd refinery.
Faster repairs will help Russia’s fuel supply, as the country is grappling with a gasoline shortage and high prices amid strong seasonal demand. Intensified Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, mainly on refineries, have exacerbated the crisis as the strikes have sent around 10% of the country’s active crude-processing capacity offline. That forced the government to extend its gasoline export ban for producers through September.
The Volgograd refinery, which was attacked several times early this year, has a design capacity to process around 300,000 barrels a day of crude and supplies oil products mainly to southern regions of Russia, with some volumes also shipped for export.
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