The key Russian oil export terminal at Novorossiysk was on fire early on Monday following an overnight drone attack, as Ukraine intensifies strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure to reduce its export capabilities amid surging oil prices.
The attack comes as another of Russia’s ports, Ust-Luga, resumed oil loadings after multiple days of disruptions due to drone attacks in the Leningrad region. But instead of offering some respite to global oil markets, the Novorossiysk terminal was set ablaze.
The area at the port of Novorossiysk, the key Russian oil export port on the Black Sea, was on fire early Monday, Bloomberg reported on Monday, based on satellite images from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System FIRMS.
Novorossiysk and other cities in the Krasnodar region in southwest Russia were attacked early on Monday, with the situation in Novorossiysk described as the “most serious” by regional governor Veniamin Kondratiev. Eight people have been injured in the attacks, while debris from drones were found at several industrial sites, he added.
The strike also follows yet another weekend drone attack at the Norsi refinery operated by Lukoil. A fire broke out at the refinery in Nizhny Novgorod, one of Russia’s largest oil processing sites, after the drone attack.
In addition, fuel leaked at the Primorsk port on the Baltic Sea, Russia’s key oil export terminal in the Baltic, which has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drones since the end of March.
Ukraine is intensifying drone attacks at key Russian oil export sites and ports as the war in the Middle East hiked oil prices to above $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022.
Primorsk is crucial for Russia’s exports as it ships the Russian flagship Urals crude and low-sulfur diesel to international markets. Industry data indicates the port has capacity of about 1 million barrels per day (bpd).
The attacks mean that Russia cannot take full advantage of the spike in oil prices and its now unsanctioned oil that is wanted again in its key market India, as loading operations at the vital Russian oil export loading ports on the Baltic Sea have been disrupted by Ukrainian drone strikes.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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