Drone attack on Russia's Orenburg Gazprom plant affects Kazakhstan's gas production – Reuters
Illustrative photo: Production at the Karachaganak field in Kazakhstan has fallen by almost a third (Getty Images)
A Ukrainian drone attack on the Orenburg gas processing plant forced neighboring Kazakhstan to reduce production at the Karachaganak field by 25-30%, Reuters reports.
The Orenburg Gazprom plant was forced to halt gas intake from Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Ministry of Energy said on Sunday, October 19.
According to two sources cited by the agency, as of October 20, production at Karachaganak dropped to 25,000–28,000 metric tons from the usual 35,000–35,500.
They noted that Orenburg may resume partial gas intake from Karachaganak today but did not specify when normal supply levels will be restored.
Oil and gas production at Karachaganak are closely linked, meaning the field cannot produce significant amounts of oil if gas output decreases.
In addition to processing in Orenburg, gas from Karachaganak is used for reinjection to maintain reservoir pressure and for electricity generation at local facilities.
The Orenburg gas processing plant is part of the international KazRosGaz (Russia-Kazakhstan) project, which processes gas from the Kazakh Karachaganak field.
Drone attack on Orenburg Gazprom plant
On the night of October 19, drones attacked the gas plant in Russia's Orenburg region, causing a fire in one of the workshops.
Gazprom confirmed an emergency at the Orenburg gas processing plant that night. As a result, the plant temporarily stopped receiving raw gas from the Karachaganak field.
On October 20, another fire broke out at the Orenburg gas processing plant.
Local residents reported seeing flames on the plant's premises, and geolocation confirmed that the images indeed showed the gas processing facility.
