A fire broke out at the “Bashneft-Novoil“ refinery in the Russian city of Ufa after a drone attack on the night of October 31. The plant is located in the Northern Industrial Zone of the capital of Bashkortostan, where three large oil refineries are located. The incident was reported by the independent Russian publication ASTRA and the monitoring channel Exilenova+.
At around 3:00 local time, the authorities in Bashkortostan declared a threat of a drone attack. About an hour later, residents of Ufa posted reports of sounds resembling explosions.
A fuel plant is likely to be affected
A preliminary analysis of photos posted by eyewitnesses links the fire to the L-35 catalytic reforming plant at “Bashneft-Novoil“. The data has not been independently confirmed.
Catalytic reforming is part of the process of producing reformate, a high-octane component of gasoline. The plant also produces hydrogen, which is used in the purification of fuels. A possible failure of the L-35 could hamper the refinery's operations, but there has been no official announcement of a production shutdown or specific damage.
Allegations of an attack on two plants have also appeared in local Internet groups. This information has also not been independently confirmed. Exilenova+ reports three separate outbreaks at sites believed to be two refineries in Ufa.
The complex processes 23.5 million tons of oil per year
The Ufa oil refining complex includes “Bashneft-Novoil“, “Bashneft-UNPZ“ and “Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim“. The companies are part of “Bashneft“, which is controlled by the Russian state oil company “Rosneft“.
The total capacity of the three plants reaches 23.5 million tons of crude oil per year. The complex produces gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation kerosene and industrial oils.
Ufa is located about 1,400 kilometers as the crow flies from the Ukrainian border. In early August, a drone attack on “Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim“ was again reported in the region. At the time, the head of Bashkortostan said that the smoke was caused by debris from a downed drone.
There is no independent confirmation of the new incident regarding the number of drones, damage or possible disruption of the refinery's operations.
Sources: news.bg, pravda.com.ua