Ryazan Oil Refinery Halts Operations After Sept 6 Drone Strike

Russia's Ryazan oil refinery, owned by Rosneft, has halted operations following a drone attack on September 6, according to two industry sources. The strike damaged the plant's main unit, CDU-6, as well as another primary unit, CDU-4.

CDU-6, which caught fire during the attack, can process about 8 million metric tons of oil a year — roughly 160,000 barrels per day — and accounts for nearly half of the refinery's capacity. CDU-4 has a capacity of 4 million tons annually. A third primary unit, CDU-3, has been under maintenance since mid-May.

The sources said repairs to the damaged units could take several weeks. Rosneft did not respond to a request for comment on the attack at the facility, which lies about 200 kilometres (124 miles) southeast of Moscow and supplies fuel to the capital.

The refinery has been targeted repeatedly. It was struck by drones on May 15, with repair work continuing until around mid-July, and was hit again on July 29, when it stopped operations for about two to three weeks.

Ukraine has continued its strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, aiming to undermine the country's economy as the war has now lasted more than four and a half years. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the attacks were intended to sow discord within Russia.

In 2024, the refinery processed 13.1 million tons of crude oil, about 4.9% of Russia's total refining throughput, according to industry sources. That year it produced 2.2 million tons of gasoline, 3.4 million tons of diesel fuel and 4.3 million tons of fuel oil.