Ukraine hit Lukoil’s NORSI refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region, overnight into Wednesday, and by Thursday morning Reuters, citing three industry sources, said crude processing there had stopped again. Ukraine’s General Staff said the strike “confirmed a hit on the target, followed by a fire on the territory of the plant,” with the damage still being assessed. Reuters said the attack damaged processing units, the pipes between them, and general plant systems, and that it was unclear how long repairs would take. Kstovo is almost 800 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
NORSI — Lukoil-Nizhegorodorgsintez — is Russia’s fourth-largest oil refinery and second-largest gasoline producer. The Kyiv Independent, citing plant figures, put annual crude capacity at around 15 to 17 million metric tons. It also makes diesel, jet fuel, bitumen, and lubricants used by Russian forces. Ukraine has struck it repeatedly this year, including on April 5, May 20, June 24, and in early July, and some of those hits already forced units offline. Residents around Kstovo reported an air-raid alert and drones before local channels posted video of flames. Russian authorities had not commented on the plant strike when the first reports landed.
Reuters told its readers that with NORSI down, all of Lukoil’s major refineries in Russia were offline because of Ukrainian attacks. President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Wednesday that Ukraine had struck 16 targets in Russia over the previous day, including oil facilities. “The war must return to where it came from,” he said. Kazakhstan’s energy minister, Yerlan Akkenzhenov, said Tuesday the country would process Russian crude and send 70 percent of the diesel and gasoline back, to ease shortages. Long lines at Russian pumps have been part of the summer. NORSI going dark again is how that looks from 800 kilometres inside the map.
Sources: The Kyiv Independent.
