Gazprom’s Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant Halts Fuel Production After Drone Attack

The Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant operated by Gazprom stopped producing automotive fuel after a drone attack on May 13. The strike caused a major fire at the facility, forcing the shutdown of its main processing units.

According to sources cited by Reuters, the plant suspended operations following the attack. Satellite images published by the Telegram channel Exilenova+ showed the damage, while Astrakhan region governor Igor Babushkin confirmed that a fire broke out after what he described as falling drone debris.

The attack damaged a condensate processing unit with an annual capacity of 3 million tons. Equipment used to remove hydrogen sulfide and recover sulfur was also hit, disrupting systems essential to the plant’s operations.

The Astrakhan plant is an important supplier of gasoline and diesel fuel for southern Russia. In 2024, it processed 1.8 million tons of condensate and produced about 800,000 tons of gasoline and 600,000 tons of diesel fuel.

Satellite images also showed heavy burning near the plant’s sulfur storage site and railway loading area.

Restoring fuel production at the facility could take anywhere from several weeks to several months.

Before the attack, the plant had already been offline for an extended period due to maintenance work and resumed active production only in April of this year.