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Russia’s Second-Largest Oil Refinery Halts Crude Processing After Ukrainian Drone Strike
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Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery in the Leningrad region, the country’s second-largest by processing capacity, has completely halted crude processing following a Ukrainian drone attack on August 30, The Moscow Times reported on September 2.
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The Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery, also known as KINEF, has an annual processing capacity of around 20 million tonnes, second only to Russia’s Omsk refinery, which can process approximately 22 million tonnes per year.
According to Reuters’ sources, the August 30 attack damaged two primary crude-processing units at the facility. The AVT-6 unit, capable of processing 22,860 tonnes per day, accounts for around 40% of the refinery’s total capacity, while the AT-1 unit, with a capacity of 4,860 tonnes per day, represents another 8%.
The refinery has two additional primary processing units, AT-6 and AVT-2, which together account for the remaining 52% of its capacity. However, both were already offline when the latest attack occurred, the sources said, leaving the refinery unable to process crude.
The Kirishi refinery is operated by Russian oil company Surgutneftegas and is one of the country’s largest oil-processing facilities.
Situated in the city of Kirishi, more than 900 kilometers from Ukraine’s state border, the facility is the only major oil refinery in northwestern Russia.
Ukrainian defense technology company Fire Point confirmed the August 30 strike, saying Ukrainian drones had targeted the facility, which accounts for approximately 6.6% of Russia’s total oil refining capacity.
The Kirishi strike was part of a broader Ukrainian campaign against Russia’s energy and military infrastructure throughout August. During the month, Ukrainian Defense Forces targeted 12 major Russian oil refineries, along with gas-processing and petrochemical plants, fuel terminals, oil depots, defense industry facilities, military airfields, and other logistics infrastructure.
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