Gazprom’s Astrakhan plant has halted fuel production following a drone attack
A Gazprom gas processing plant in Russia’s Astrakhan region has suspended production of motor fuel following a fire that broke out on 13 May after a drone attack. Two industry sources told Reuters this.
According to them, the plant has halted operations, including a combined stable condensate processing unit with a capacity of 3 million tonnes per year, which produces petrol and diesel fuel.
Igor Babushkin, governor of the Astrakhan region, stated on Telegram that the fire at the gas processing plant was allegedly caused by debris from a Ukrainian drone.
Sources noted that the resumption of motor fuel production could take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Reuters also reported that Gazprom had not responded to a request for comment.
One source said that the Astrakhan plant had not been operating since September last year and had resumed condensate processing and motor fuel production only a few weeks before the new attack in April.
Another source reported that equipment for hydrogen sulphide processing and sulphur removal was also damaged during the attack.
According to industry sources, in 2024 the plant processed 1.8 million tonnes of stable gas condensate, producing 800,000 tonnes of petrol, 600,000 tonnes of diesel fuel and 300,000 tonnes of fuel oil.
