Russia's Oil Industry Takes Another Hit as Drones Ignite Massive Fire at LUKOIL Refinery

Drones struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in the Nizhny Novgorod region overnight on November 1, triggering fires at the facility. Regional authorities reported significant damage to an industrial site and warned of possible electricity and heating disruptions.

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According to ASTRA on November 1, the attack targeted the LUKOIL-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery, also known as NORSI, in the city of Kstovo. The facility is among Russia’s five largest oil refineries and has an annual processing capacity of approximately 15–17 million metric tons of crude oil.

A major fire reportedly broke out near the refinery’s AVT-5 and AVT-6 crude oil distillation units. These installations are used in the initial stages of oil refining, separating crude oil into components for further processing.

Russian authorities declared a drone attack alert in the Nizhny Novgorod region at 1:01 a.m. Moscow time. Between 2:51 a.m. and 3:08 a.m., local residents began reporting explosions and air defense activity near the refinery.

Videos circulated on social media showed large fires burning at the industrial site, with flames visible from multiple locations.

Nizhny Novgorod regional governor Gleb Nikitin confirmed a large-scale drone attack, claiming that Russian air defenses had destroyed more than 100 drones overnight and into the morning. This could not be independently verified.

The governor also warned that emergency repairs could require temporary electricity outages and restrictions on residential heating.

The NORSI refinery is LUKOIL’s largest refining facility by installed capacity. It produces gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, fuel oil, bitumen, and other petroleum products, making it an important part of Russia’s domestic fuel supply infrastructure.

Ukrainian defense manufacturer Fire Point also acknowledged the strike in a post on X, writing: “Kstovo refinery, trick or treat!” The company did not provide further details the attack or specify which weapons were used.

Earlier, on October 31, Ukrainian Neptune missiles and attack drones struck Russia’s Kamensky Combine rocket fuel plant in the Rostov region, setting a warehouse ablaze and damaging four production workshops. The facility produces solid rocket propellant for Russia’s Uragan, Smerch, and Tornado-S multiple-launch rocket systems.

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