Ukraine drone attack halts Russia's fourth-largest oil refinery

Russia's fourth-largest oil refinery, Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez (NORSI) located in Kstovo, has ceased crude oil processing following a Ukrainian drone strike on August 26. The attack significantly damaged multiple oil processing equipment systems, as well as the infrastructure and general buildings of the facility.

Local governor Gleb Nikitin confirmed that an industrial facility in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region was damaged by the Ukrainian drone attack. Sources indicate that NORSI is the second-largest gasoline-producing refinery in Russia, while Reuters reports it as the fourth-largest overall oil refinery in the country. It remains unclear when the damage will be repaired and when the refinery can resume operations.

This incident is not isolated; currently, all major oil refineries belonging to Lukoil in Russia are reportedly non-operational. The Perm oil refinery halted work after a drone attack on August 21, and the Volgograd refinery experienced a strike on July 31. These attacks are part of a sustained campaign by Ukraine targeting Russia's energy infrastructure.

NORSI has a significant processing capacity, capable of refining approximately 15 million tons of crude oil annually. It produces about 5 million tons of gasoline, over 5 million tons of diesel, 2 million tons of fuel oil, and around 500,000 tons of bitumen. Earlier reports indicated that Ukrainian defense forces struck the NORSI plant, causing a fire on its territory, according to the General Staff of Ukraine. Prior to August 14, Ukrainian drones had reportedly attacked nearly a third of Russia's major oil refineries, with Orsknefteorgsintez also completely halting operations after Ukrainian attacks.