Media: Key energy facilities across Russia hit by drone attacks, oil refinery on fire, export port damaged

Reuters reported on April 5 that key energy facilities across Russia were attacked by drones, resulting in fires and leaks.

On the same day, Governor Gleb Nikitin of the Nizhny Novgorod region announced that a fire broke out at the NORSI oil refinery in Kstovo. Located about 400 kilometers from Moscow, this refinery is Russia's fourth-largest refining facility. The fire was triggered by a drone attack, with two facilities within the complex reportedly struck. The attack also caused damage to a power station and several residential buildings, but there are currently no reports of casualties.

The NORSI refinery is also Russia's second-largest producer of gasoline, with an annual processing capacity of approximately 16 million tons of crude oil—equivalent to about 320,000 barrels per day.

On the same day, Russian authorities also reported a fuel leak at Primorsk, a major port located along the Baltic Sea. Initially, Alexander Drozdetsky, governor of Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, said a pipeline at the port had been damaged. However, he later updated his statement, clarifying that the pipeline itself was not damaged; instead, a fuel storage tank inside the port complex was hit by shrapnel, causing the leak. No casualties were reported in the incident.

Primorsk is one of Russia’s main oil export hubs, with a daily handling capacity of up to 1 million barrels. According to U.S. commercial satellite imagery cited by Reuters, at least 40% of the port’s storage facilities were damaged during last month’s Ukrainian drone attacks. At certain points last month, due to a combination of factors—including drone strikes, the closure of the Druzhba pipeline within Ukraine, and the detention of oil tankers linked to Russia—Russia’s oil export capacity was temporarily affected by around 40%.

In the Black Sea region, Mayor Andrey Kravchenko of Russia’s largest port city, Novorossiysk, stated that air raid alert mechanisms have been activated locally due to the threat of incoming drones. Typically, during such alerts, petroleum loading operations—including those involving Kazakh crude oil transported via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium—are suspended.

Source: rfi

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1861620846419980/

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