Ukraine Strikes NOVATEK Facilities in Ust-Luga

On August 14, Ukraine struck NOVATEK facilities in the Russian port of Ust-Luga, located in the Leningrad region.

The report comes from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

NOVATEK, Ust-Luga is a production and transshipment complex designed for the fractionation and processing of stable gas condensate. Its capacity is nearly 8 million metric tons of raw materials per year.

This morning, news broke of a fire caused by an attack by Ukrainian drones, and preliminary assessments of the strikes have already emerged.

The attack damaged stable gas condensate fractionation units and the combined hydrocracking unit.

Ust-Luga is not merely a terminal for transshipping raw materials. Within the complex, stable gas condensate was processed into light and heavy crude oil, jet fuel, diesel, marine fuel components, and LPG.

A significant portion of the products obtained after refining was exported by sea. Thus, the complex allowed Russia not only to export raw materials but also to produce petroleum products with higher added value.

According to data for 2022, the complex produced approximately 6.8 million metric tons of commercial products. Of this total, about 4.2 million metric tons were light and heavy crude oil, and 1.05 million metric tons were jet fuel.

Another approximately 1.49 million metric tons consisted of diesel fuel and marine fuel components, while LPG production reached approximately 78,000 metric tons.

According to Militarnyi’s analysis, the cargo line of the port terminal located next to the complex was also damaged.

The combined hydrocracking unit is of particular importance. This process allows for the conversion of heavier oil fractions and residues into more valuable light petroleum products, notably kerosene and gasoil.

Therefore, damage to the fractionation and hydrocracking units affects not only individual production facilities but also the entire gas condensate processing chain.

Ust-Luga is one of the key elements of NOVATEK’s export infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, which ensured the processing of raw materials and the subsequent shipment of finished products by sea.