Moscow Oil Refinery stops crude processing after Ukrainian drone attack - Reuters
Photo: Smoke over the Moscow Oil Refinery after a drone attack (Getty Images)
A Ukrainian drone attack on September 20 halted operations at the Moscow Oil Refinery, owned by Gazprom Neft. Following the strike, two primary crude oil distillation units at the facility caught fire, according to Reuters.
According to three Reuters sources in the oil industry, the drones crashed on the refinery grounds, after which fires broke out at both primary oil refining units.
The agency's sources said that repairing the damage and restoring the facility's operations could take several weeks.
Which units were damaged
The damage involved the two main primary oil refining units. Together, they account for the entire primary refining capacity of the Moscow Oil Refinery.
The AVT-6 unit can process 21,400 metric tons of crude oil per day. This accounts for about 53% of the refinery's total capacity.
Another 18,800 tons per day is handled by the EURO+ combined oil processing unit. It accounts for the remaining 47%.
Therefore, after both units were damaged, the Moscow Oil Refinery effectively lost its ability to carry out primary oil refining.
The consequences of the attack are also reflected in the sale of its products. According to Reuters sources, fuel from the Moscow Oil Refinery has not been offered for sale on the Saint Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange since September 21.
How much oil did the refinery process
The Moscow Oil Refinery is one of the largest facilities of its kind in Russia. According to Reuters sources, the refinery processed 11.6 million tons of crude oil in 2024. This is equivalent to about 230,000 barrels per day.
That same year, the facility produced 2.9 million tons of gasoline, 3.2 million tons of diesel fuel, and 1.3 million tons of bitumen.
The refinery's operations will now depend on how serious the damage to the units turns out to be. According to Reuters sources, repairing them and restoring the facility's operations could take several weeks.
On the night of September 20, Ukrainian drones attacked the Gazprom Neft-Moscow Oil Refinery in the Kapotnya district. A large fire broke out at the facility following the strike.
Russia called the attack the largest ever. According to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, more than 1,600 drones were allegedly shot down at various lines of defense since September 19, including 450 heading toward Moscow.
