Russia's Perm oil refinery shuts down after Ukraine's attacks — Reuters
Photo: How a drone attack brought the Perm oil refinery to a standstill (Russian media)
One of Russia's largest oil refineries has completely shut down following a series of Ukrainian attacks, Reuters reports.
Read also: Ukrainian drones strike Chechnya's Grozny
On May 7, Ukrainian drones attacked Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez, one of Russia’s largest refineries, located approximately 1,460 kilometers east of Moscow. The strike caused a fire and damaged equipment.
Following this, the refinery completely halted oil processing.
Industry sources reported that three main crude oil primary processing units were immediately taken offline following the strike. In addition, some secondary processing units were shut down.
One of the units, CDU-4, had been out of operation since April 30 due to a previous drone attack.
How long will repairs take
According to sources, restoration work could take several weeks. Lukoil, which owns the plant, did not respond to a request for comment.
Perm region Governor Dmitry Makhonin confirmed that drones attacked industrial facilities in the region on Friday, but did not specify which facility was affected.
What plant produced
In 2024, Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez processed approximately 12.6 million tons of crude oil. Its products included:
- 2 million tons of gasoline
- 5.3 million tons of diesel fuel
- 700,000 tons of coke
- 200,000 tons of fuel oil.
The plant supplied fuel to both the civilian sector and the military.
The goal of such strikes is to reduce revenue to the Russian budget and weaken Moscow’s military capabilities. Additionally, the Kremlin is forced to spend billions on emergency repairs of strategic facilities deep in the rear.
On the night of May 8, specialists from the Security Service of Ukraine's (SBU) Alpha Special Operations Center launched a third strike against the same oil refinery and the Perm oil pumping station, a key hub through which oil is distributed in four directions.
And on May 13, the Nurlino LPSD (Linear Production and Dispatch Station), one of Transneft’s largest oil transportation hubs, caught fire in neighboring Bashkortostan; the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
