Photo: open sources

On the night of Wednesday, 15 January, a large-scale fire broke out at the Lukoil oil refinery in the city’s Krasnoarmeysky district in Volgograd. Residents reported an explosion that preceded the fire, suggesting that something might have fallen on the plant, DW reports.

According to operational services, unit No. 18 and two heat exchangers caught fire. There were no casualties or injuries. Officially, it was stated that the cause was an “emergency situation” within the plant itself, not “external interference”.

“Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka is one of the largest producers of petroleum products in the Southern Federal District, with a capacity of 14.8 million tonnes per year. The plant was twice targeted by Ukrainian drones last year, leading to a temporary shutdown of key facilities.

The Volgograd refinery is an important part of Russia’s oil refining industry, processing 13.5 million tonnes of crude oil in 2023 and producing significant volumes of motor petrol, diesel, jet fuel and fuel oil.