Russian oil refinery in Tuapse halts operations after drone attack – Reuters

Rosneft's refinery in Tuapse, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, halted oil processing after a fire caused by a drone attack on the morning of May 17, Reuters reports, citing sources.

According to the agency's sources, the plant's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production unit was damaged.

"There was no black smoke during the fire. That means it was just the gas (LPG) burning," a source explained.

The source believes the refinery could be restarted relatively quickly.

"The LPG unit can be bypassed and primary processing can resume. Some of the gas can remain in the oil up to the saturated vapor pressure limit, while the rest can be used for the refinery's own needs – in the refinery furnaces," the source said.

Rosneft did not respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

The Tuapse refinery, one of Russia's oldest, was built in 1929 and has a capacity of 12 million tons of oil a year. It produces naphtha, fuel oil, vacuum gas oil and high-sulphur diesel fuel. Exports via the nearby oil terminal go to Turkey, China, Malaysia and Singapore.

In 2023, the Tuapse refinery processed 9.322 million tons of oil.

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