According to the “two industry sources” cited by Reuters, Russia’s Rosneft export-oriented Tuapse oil refinery, one of the largest in Russia’s south, has resumed oil processing.
They said oil processing volumes at Tuapse amounted to 20,000 metric tons (146,600 bpd) on May 1.
The plant was damaged by fire after Ukraine’s drone strike in January.
The primary oil refining unit CDU-12, with a capacity of around 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) was damaged.
Ukraine started its campaign of drone attacks against Russian oil refineries in January 2024, damaging up to 15% of Russia’s refining capacity. One of the latest strikes happened on 27 April 2024 against refineries in Krasnodar Krai.
Here is the short timeline of major attacks:
- On 23 March, a fire broke out at the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Samara Oblast after explosions, likely from a drone strike
- On 17 March, drones struck the Slavyansk oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai.
- On 16 March, drones hit three oil refineries in Russia’s Samara Oblast.
- On 15 March, suicide drones attacked an oil refinery in Russia’s Kaluga oblast.
- On 13 March, drones hit an oil refinery in Ryazan.
- On 12 March, Ukraine carried out a coordinated drone offensive, hitting and damaging at least two Russian oil assets – a refinery in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and a fuel depot in Oryol.
- On 6 March, an oil depot in Kursk came under drone attack.
- On 14 February, a Kursk oil depot was ablaze after a drone strike.
- On 9 February, kamikaze drones targeted oil facilities in two Russian regions, hitting the Ilsky and Afipsky oil refineries in the Krasnodar region and an oil depot in the Oryol region, causing a severe fire at the Ilsky refinery and damaging a primary processing unit valued.
- On 3 February, residents of Volgograd, Russia, reported two explosions, with the Governor stating that Russian air defense units allegedly intercepted drones targeting an oil refinery.
- A vacuum distillation column at an oil refinery caught fire in Russia’s Tuapse City overnight on 25 January.
- On 18 January, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil depot in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.
- On 31 January, a drone hit an oil refinery in St. Petersburg.
- On 18 January, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil depot in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.
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