Overview
- The Syzran refinery paused operations on Tuesday after a strike heavily damaged its main AVT-6 crude distillation unit, a single unit that handles roughly 17,100 tonnes per day of crude.
- The Saratov refinery stopped processing after a drone attack last Friday that followed earlier strikes in August and in early September that had already forced intermittent suspensions.
- Syzran’s secondary distillation unit was already under repair from a July attack, so the September hit left the plant effectively offline at a time when it normally processes most of its crude.
- Together Syzran and Saratov have a combined design capacity near 15.5 million tonnes a year, and industry sources told Reuters that repairs at Syzran could take at least a month, prolonging a material drop in Russian refining output.
- The strikes have worsened an existing petrol shortfall that left domestic production covering about 70% of summer consumption by the end of August, raising the risk of more rationing, higher import needs, and longer fuel queues for Russian consumers.