Novak announced the time frame for restoring equipment operation at the Nizhny Novgorod refinery

LUKOIL intends to restore the production capacity of the Nizhny Novgorod refinery within one to two months, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters. Since January 4, one of the two catalytic cracking units – key equipment for the production of gasoline – has been out of service due to a compressor failure.

“The work is underway, the appropriate equipment is being produced, and the plant will ensure the restoration of work in the near future. As you know, an emergency situation occurred at the turbine, the blades flew off, and accordingly, this equipment is now being reproduced, intensive work is underway in a constant mode. The company plans that the equipment will be restored within one to two months,” said Mr. Novak (quoted by TASS). He emphasized that the parts necessary for repairs are produced in Russia.

January 12 LUKOIL reported on the temporary shutdown of one of the two catalytic cracking units at the Nizhny Novgorod Oil Refinery. Due to the accident, there was a decrease in the production of motor gasoline, but the Ministry of Energy promised to prevent a fuel shortage. Kommersant’s sources reported that foreign equipment had broken down and could not be replaced in the near future due to sanctions.

January 27 Alexander Novak reportedthat LUKOIL will need at least a month and a half to find and replace faulty equipment. On March 12, the Nizhny Novgorod oil refinery was attacked by drones from Ukraine. The drone hit an oil refinery, causing an explosion and then a fire. It took several hours to extinguish the fire, and a fire train was deployed. According to “Kommersant – Volga region”the oil refining plant was stopped.

Read more about the impact of drone attacks on the gasoline market in Russia in the material “Gasoline was lifted from the tanks”.

Alexandra Goroshilova