Russia's Volgograd refinery halts operations following October 2 drone strike

Russia Volgograd oil refinery entirely stopped processing crude oil on October 2 due to equipment damage caused by a drone assault, according to the Reuters.The shutdown is expected to put further pressure on fuel supplies in Russia, which has already been facing shortages following a series of attacks on oil refineries.The regional administration, quoting Governor Andrey Bocharov, said the region's industrial infrastructure had come under a large-scale drone assault. It did not identify the facilities that were targeted.A request for comment from Reuters was not answered by the plant's owner, Lukoil.The latest incident comes as Russia and Ukraine have intensified strikes on each other's energy infrastructure, with diplomatic efforts to end the war, now in its fifth year, yet to yield a breakthrough.The Volgograd refinery has previously been hit by drone attacks, sustaining significant damage on May 29 and July 31.The refinery can handle nearly 14 million tons of crude oil annually, or 280,000 barrels per day, according to the company's website. This represents almost 5% of Russia's overall refining throughput.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.