Two Rosneft refineries halted processing after drone attacks

The Syzran and Saratov oil refineries, owned by Rosneft, have halted oil processing after drone attacks. The largest primary processing unit at the Syzran refinery has been damaged, and its repair may take at least a month.

Reuters reports the shutdown of the enterprises, citing three sources in the oil refining industry. The Syzran refinery stopped processing after a strike on September 15, and the Saratov refinery after an attack on September 11.

The most serious consequences were recorded at the Syzran refinery in Samara region. According to agency sources, the latest attack damaged the primary oil processing unit AVT-6 with a capacity of about 17.1 thousand tons of feedstock per day. It accounts for about 71% of the enterprise's primary processing capacities.

Reuters interlocutors tentatively estimate the repair period for AVT-6 at least one month. Meanwhile, the second primary processing unit AVT-5, with a capacity of about 7.1 thousand tons per day, was already under repair after a previous drone strike in July. It accounts for the remaining about 29% of the plant's primary processing capacity.

Thus, after the new attack on the Syzran refinery, there is no available unit for primary oil processing. It is at this stage that crude oil is separated into fractions, which are then used to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products.

The Ukrainian General Staff earlier confirmed the strike on the Syzran refinery on the night of September 15. The military reported hits followed by a fire and stated that the AVT-6 unit and the tank farm of the enterprise were hit.

The Syzran refinery is part of Rosneft and is one of the major oil refining enterprises in the Volga region. Its design capacity is estimated at about 8.5-8.9 million tons of oil per year. The plant produces motor gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as other petroleum products.

This is not the first shutdown of the enterprise in 2026. In July, the Syzran refinery also halted processing after a drone attack. Then the AVT-5 unit was damaged, and AVT-6 was already out of operation after an earlier strike. Subsequently, the largest unit was returned to operation, but on September 15 it was damaged again.

The Saratov refinery, according to Reuters, has not processed oil since September 11. On that day, the Ukrainian Defence Forces struck the enterprise, after which a fire occurred on its territory.

Later, the General Staff of the AFU reported that the attack on the Saratov refinery damaged the primary oil processing unit ELOU-AVT-6, as well as a section of the main pipeline.

The capacity of the Saratov refinery is about 7 million tons of oil per year. In 2024, the enterprise actually processed about 5.8 million tons of feedstock. The plant produces gasoline, diesel fuel and other petroleum products.

The Saratov enterprise has also repeatedly halted after previous drone attacks. In particular, Reuters reported a processing shutdown after a strike in July, when the main primary processing unit was damaged.

The consequences of the new shutdowns are already visible on the Russian wholesale petroleum products market. According to Reuters sources, on September 16, there were no offers of gasoline and diesel fuel with rail delivery from the Samara group of Rosneft refineries, which includes the Syzran plant, on the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange.

Products of the Saratov refinery, according to the agency, have not been exhibited at exchange trading since September 8.

The scale of the shutdown of two enterprises is also significant in terms of fuel output. According to Reuters, in 2024 the Syzran and Saratov refineries together produced about 2 million tons of motor gasoline and approximately 3.4 million tons of diesel fuel.

At that, the Syzran plant provided about 800 thousand tons of gasoline and 1.5 million tons of diesel fuel per year. The decommissioning of its two primary processing units limits the enterprise's ability to produce these volumes until the equipment is restored.

Both shutdowns occurred amid a series of strikes on Russian oil refineries. The Ukrainian Defence Forces state that they attack facilities involved in fueling the Russian army. In particular, the General Staff pointed out that the Syzran and Saratov refineries supply petroleum products for the needs of the RF armed forces.

Rosneft did not comment on reports of the processing shutdown at the Syzran and Saratov refineries at the time of Reuters publication.

Based on materials from: Reuters, General Staff of the AFU