Rosneft's Kuibyshev refinery halts crude processing after drone strike

September 24, 2026 at 10:24 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Rosneft's Kuibyshev refinery in Samara fully halted crude processing after a drone attack on September 22 damaged both primary distillation units. The simultaneous shutdown of AVT-4 and AVT-5, each with capacity of about 10,000 tonnes per day, effectively stops normal production at the plant. The halt comes amid a series of drone strikes on Russian refining infrastructure that have also hit Moscow and Yaroslavl refineries in September.

Key Facts

Kuibyshev refinery's two primary distillation units, AVT-4 and AVT-5, each process about 10,000 tonnes of crude per day.
The refinery's nominal capacity is about 7 million tonnes of oil per year, and in 2024 it processed roughly 4.7 million tonnes.
From September 22, sales of wholesale Ai-92 gasoline and inter-seasonal diesel from the Samara group stopped on the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange, while Ai-95 sales fell by more than half.
In June 2026, the same refinery fully halted processing after a drone attack disabled AVT-4 and AVT-5.
Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev confirmed a massive drone attack on the region targeting industrial enterprises.

Drone Attack Damage

Two industry sources told Reuters that the September 22 drone attack damaged both primary distillation units at the Kuibyshev refinery, AVT-4 and AVT-5. Each unit has a capacity of about 10,000 tonnes of crude per day, and their simultaneous shutdown effectively halts normal production. Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev confirmed a massive drone attack on the region and said industrial enterprises were targeted, without disclosing specific damage. The Kuibyshev refinery is part of Rosneft's Samara group, which also includes the Novokuibyshevsk and Syzran refineries.

Market Impact

From September 22, sales of wholesale Ai-92 gasoline and inter-seasonal diesel from the Samara group stopped on the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange. Sales of Ai-95 gasoline fell by more than half, according to Reuters. The Kuibyshev refinery has a nominal capacity of about 7 million tonnes of oil per year and processed roughly 4.7 million tonnes in 2024. In 2024, the plant produced about 800,000 tonnes of gasoline, 1.4 million tonnes of diesel, and 1.3 million tonnes of fuel oil.

Repeated Shutdowns

In June 2026, the Kuibyshev refinery also fully halted processing after a drone attack disabled AVT-4 and AVT-5. The Syzran refinery remains out of normal operation after a previous attack and equipment damage. In September, drone strikes also caused shutdowns or reduced operations at the Moscow and Yaroslavl refineries. The extent of the current damage and the time needed to resume processing remain unknown.