Russian oil companies are experiencing difficulties repairing refineries due to Western sanctions, and attacks by Ukrainian drones may exacerbate their problems.
Source: European Pravda; Reuters
When engineers at Russian oil company Lukoil discovered a turbine failure at its largest refinery on 4 January, they quickly realised that the problem was far from trivial, Reuters says.
Only one company knew how to repair the gasoline production unit at the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery (NORSI), located on the Volga River. The problem was that the company was an American one, according to five sources familiar with the incident.
The company, engaged in oil engineering and part of the multinational concern UOP, left Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
"They (the engineers) rushed around to find spare parts and they couldn't find anything. Then the whole unit just stopped," a source close to Lukoil said.
Four other sources said the catalytic cracker, which is used to convert heavy hydrocarbons into gasoline, has not been operational since January, and it is unclear when it could be repaired due to a lack of experience in Russia.
🇺🇦@ukraine_report 🇺🇦🔱
