The Orenburg gas processing plant, recognized as the largest of its kind globally, has ceased gas intake from Kazakhstan due to a Ukrainian drone attack, as confirmed by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy on Sunday. Yevgeny Solntsev, the regional governor of Orenburg, disclosed that the plant sustained partial damage and a workshop fire ignited by the drone strike. The fire was promptly extinguished, reported the operator through Russian media outlet Kommersant.
Ukraine has escalated attacks on Russian refineries and energy facilities, targeting a gas processing plant in the Orenburg region and an oil refinery in the Samara region in southwestern Russia. These actions, ongoing since August, are aimed at disrupting gasoline supplies and cutting off funding to Moscow.
The Ukrainian military reported explosions and a fire at the Orenburg site, marking the first recorded strike on the plant within the Orenburg gas chemical complex. Operated by Gazprom, the facility boasts an annual processing capacity of 45 billion cubic meters, managing gas condensate from the Orenburg oil and gas field alongside Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak field.
Gazprom informed Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry of the emergency, but details on the damage extent and resumption timeline for full operations are pending. Fortunately, no injuries were reported from the attack.
In a separate development, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, the governor of Russia’s Samara region, shared on social media that air defenses responded to Ukrainian drones overnight, leading to a temporary suspension of local airport and mobile internet services. Previous attempts by Ukraine targeted an oil refinery in the Samara region.
Russia’s Defence Ministry stated that 45 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight, with 12 over the Samara region, 11 over the Saratov region, and one over the Orenburg region. The ongoing drone attacks have intensified tensions in the region, impacting critical energy infrastructure.