One of Russia's largest refineries halts after drone strike
Lukoil's Perm oil refinery halted operations after a drone attack on the night of September 25. The plant is among Russia's largest refineries and has been targeted repeatedly in recent months.
Reuters reported the shutdown, citing sources in the oil industry.
The facility in question is the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez plant in Perm. That morning, Russian authorities confirmed a massive drone attack on the region. Perm Krai Governor Dmitry Makhonin said an industrial facility was struck but did not name the enterprise. Independent outlet Astra and other monitoring resources reported that the Perm refinery was the target.
A fire broke out on the plant's territory after the attack. Later, industry sources told Reuters that the refinery's operations had been halted.
The Perm refinery ranks seventh in Russia by crude processing volumes. In 2024, the plant processed about 12.6 million tons of feedstock, or roughly 252,000 barrels per day. The refinery produces gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, and petroleum coke.
This is not the first time the plant has been seriously halted after drone attacks. On August 21, drones also hit the Perm refinery, after which one of the main crude distillation units, accounting for almost 40% of the plant's capacity, was shut down. At that time, Reuters sources estimated the repair duration at one to two weeks.
Another major crude distillation unit, which accounts for about a third of the plant's capacity, had also been idle after the July attack. Thus, repeated strikes hit the refinery amid ongoing recovery work and limited utilization of certain facilities.
The Perm plant is among a group of Russian refineries whose output has declined in recent months after drone attacks. In mid-September, Reuters reported that three of Russia's six largest diesel producers had significantly cut output or completely shut down some capacity after damage.
On the night of September 25, other Russian industrial facilities also came under attack. In Rostov region, authorities confirmed damage to the Novoshakhtinsk oil product plant and the temporary halt of its operations. In Ulyanovsk, according to Russian and independent sources, a strike hit the Iskra plant, which produces electronic components.
