A Ukrainian drone recently struck Russia’s third-largest oil refinery located approximately 1,300 km (800 miles) away from the conflict zones. The targeted unit at the refinery, which processes around 155,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was hit in an attempt to disrupt Russia’s oil revenue. While the strike caused a fire at the primary refining unit in Russia’s Tatarstan region, industry sources confirmed that the damage was not critical. The refinery in question, Taneco, under Tatneft (TATN.MM), boasts an annual production capacity exceeding 17 million tons (340,000 barrels per day).
Although images from the scene depicted the drone’s impact on the primary refining unit, CDU-7, no significant damage was observed. The swift response from firefighting teams led to the extinguishing of the fire within 20 minutes, with operations at the refinery remaining uninterrupted. The affected unit contributes significantly to the plant’s annual production capacity and represents approximately 6.2% of Russia’s total refining capacity. The incident temporarily impacted global oil prices, with Brent briefly surpassing $89 a barrel for the first time since October.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s long-distance military actions against Russia in response to ongoing attacks. Additionally, Ukrainian-made drones targeted a Russian facility producing Shahed attack drones, resulting in significant damage.
These drone attacks on Russian refineries have raised concerns about potential escalation and have drawn attention to the evolving dynamics of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.