A fire that broke out at the Volgograd Lukoil refinery on Wednesday, Jan. 15, forced the shutdown of its diesel hydrotreating unit, Reuters reported, citing local industry sources.
The cause of the fire remains unclear, though local reports suggest “something fell” onto the facility before an explosion occurred. Russian emergency services deny any “external impact,” and the Russian Ministry of Defense reported no drone attacks in the region.
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“All extinguished. Hydrotreating has been stopped. It is not yet clear how long it will take to repair it,” one source told Reuters.
Another source told Reuters that a fire broke out at unit 18, one of two on-site diesel hydrotreating units with a daily capacity of 9,500 metric tons.
The refinery, among Russia’s top 10 by production, processed 13.7 million tons of oil in 2023. The shutdown has cut its diesel production by half – roughly 10,000 tons per day.
Another purification unit remains operational, producing 4,500 tons of Euro-5 diesel daily. Repairs are underway, but the timeline for resumption remains uncertain.
Located in Russia’s Southern Federal District, the Volgograd refinery accounts for nearly 7% of the country’s diesel production. It also produces significant volumes of gasoline and fuel oil. However, the plant has faced disruptions before, with Ukrainian drone strikes causing shutdowns in February and May last year.
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Russia’s oil industry is under strain, with overall refining volumes in 2024 dropping to their lowest levels since 2012 – down 3.2% compared to the previous year.
Some Russian refineries, like Tuapse and Novoshakhtinsky, saw processing drop by over 30%.
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