38% of Russian oil refining capacity halted in “unprecedented crisis”

Epravda reported the information, citing Russian sources.

According to the Russian agency RBC, citing data from the Siala agency, as of September 28, 38% of the country’s crude oil processing capacity, equivalent to 338,000 tons per day, was idle.

The total capacity available for gasoline and diesel production fell by 6% in August and a further 18% in September.

The scale of refinery shutdowns has reached a historically unprecedented level: it exceeded the August record (23%, 206,000 tons per day) as well as previous records in May 2022 (196,000 tons per day) and May 2020 (164,000 tons per day).

Approximately 70% of the shutdowns, according to Siala’s calculations, were the result of drone attacks: by the end of September, they had taken out about a quarter of Russian oil refining capacity, or roughly 236,000 tons per day.

In September, four more Russian refineries halted production following Ukrainian drone strikes. These include Kirishi oil refinery in Leningrad region, the second-largest refinery in Russia, and Rosneft’s Ryazan refinery, among the country’s top five. The first stopped on September 14, the second on September 5. Additionally, Novokuibyshevsk refinery ceased processing on September 20, and Gazprom’s Astrakhan refinery on September 22.

As a result, gasoline production in September dropped by 1 million tons, and its deficit on the domestic market reached 20% of consumption, reported the Russian publication Kommersant.

• On the night of September 5, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in the Russian city of Ryazan.
• On the night of September 20, units of the Unmanned Systems Forces, in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces, struck Russia's Saratov and Novokuibyshevsk refineries.
• On September 24, drones of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery in Bashkortostan, Russia. The target lies about 1,400 km from Ukraine.