Ukraine drones render nearly 40 percent of Russia oil refineries inoperationable

About 38 percent of Russia’s oil refining capacity for gasoline and diesel fuel has been halted due to Ukrainian drone attacks as of the end of September, marking the largest shutdown in history, reports Kyiv-based Ekonomichna Pravda, citing Russian media.

“Ukrainian drone attacks, which since early August have hit more than two dozen major oil refineries across Russia, have plunged the Russian fuel market into a crisis it has never seen,” the report said.

Overall, 38 percent of primary oil refining capacity, around 338,000 tons of crude per day, has ceased. Approximately 70 percent of the shutdowns were caused by Ukrainian strikes. The drone attacks have taken out about a quarter of all Russian refining capacity.

In September, key facilities were forced to suspend operations, including Russia’s second-largest refinery, Kinef in the Leningrad region, as well as Rosneft’s Ryazan refinery, Novokuybyshevsk refinery, and Gazprom’s Astrakhan gas processing plant.

Overall capacity for producing gasoline and diesel fuel declined throughout August and September, with gasoline production falling by 1 million tons in September alone. This has caused a domestic gasoline shortage in Russia, reaching 20 percent of total consumption.

Russian oil companies are unable to address their problematic situation. Repairs at the affected refineries could take months, as Western sanctions have blocked the supply of necessary equipment that is used for refinery upgrades, and replacing it with Chinese alternatives is extremely cumbersome.