The Orenburg gas processing plant, recognized as the world’s largest facility of its kind, has halted gas intake from Kazakhstan following a Ukrainian drone attack, the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan revealed on Sunday.
Yevgeny Solntsev, the governor of Orenburg region, disclosed earlier that the plant suffered partial damage due to the drone strike, resulting in a workshop fire that was eventually extinguished, as reported by Russian media outlet Kommersant.
Ukraine, confirming its strike on a gas processing plant in Orenburg and an oil refinery in Samara, both located in southwestern Russia, has intensified attacks on Russian refineries and energy facilities since August to disrupt gasoline supplies and cut off Moscow’s funding.
The Ukrainian military reported explosions and fire at the Orenburg site, marking the first documented strike on the plant, which is part of the Orenburg gas chemical complex.
Operated by Gazprom, the facility has an annual processing capacity of 45 billion cubic meters and processes gas condensate from the Orenburg oil and gas field as well as Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak field.
The Energy Ministry of Kazakhstan stated that Gazprom had informed them of the emergency but had not provided specifics on the extent of damage or a timeline for resuming full operations. Fortunately, no injuries were reported from the attack.
Meanwhile, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, the governor of Russia’s Samara region, mentioned on social media that air defenses had been activated against Ukrainian drones overnight, leading to the temporary suspension of local airport and mobile internet services. Ukraine had previously attempted to target an oil refinery in the Samara region.
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed that its air defense forces had successfully downed 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, with 12 over the Samara region, 11 over the Saratov region, and one over the Orenburg region.