The Moscow Oil Refinery has completely halted oil refining following an attack by Ukrainian drones
Gazpromneft’s Moscow refinery has completely halted crude oil processing since September 20 due to fires at the primary processing units caused by a drone attack.
According to the agency’s sources, both primary crude oil refining units at the Moscow refinery caught fire after the drones struck. These include the AVT-6 unit, with a capacity of 21,400 metric tons per day—accounting for 53% of the refinery’s capacity—and the EURO+ combined primary refining unit, with a capacity of 18,800 metric tons per day, or 47%.
On the St. Petersburg International Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, wholesale lots of petroleum products from the Moscow Refinery have not been offered for sale since September 21. According to sources, it may take several weeks to repair the damage and restore the equipment.
The Moscow Refinery had already sustained significant damage following drone attacks on June 16 and 18, after which the facility was shut down for repairs.
The Moscow Refinery has a capacity of 14 million metric tons of crude oil per year and ranks among the top ten largest refineries in Russia. It became the fifth refinery to halt fuel production in September due to drone attacks. Two other major facilities supplying fuel to the Moscow region had previously shut down: Yaroslavnefteorgsintez on September 17 and Rosneft’s Ryazan Refinery on September 6. In addition, Rosneft’s Syzran and Saratov refineries, with a combined capacity exceeding 15 million metric tons per year, halted operations on September 11 and 15, respectively.
According to Reuters sources, in 2024 the Moscow refinery processed 11.6 million metric tons of crude oil, producing 2.9 million metric tons of motor gasoline, 3.2 million metric tons of diesel fuel, 2 million metric tons of fuel oil, and 1.3 million metric tons of tar.
This is reported by Russian propaganda media.
A large oil refinery in Moscow caught fire following the strike.
On the night of September 20, Ukrainian forces struck the Moscow oil refinery in the Kapotnya district. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the strike and announced that one of Russia’s key oil industry facilities had been hit. The General Staff reported that a massive fire broke out at the plant following the attack.
On the night of September 20, Moscow and the Moscow region came under a massive drone attack. One of the strikes hit the Gazpromneft-MNPZ Moscow Oil Refinery in the Kapotnya district, after which a fire broke out at the facility.
