Fire at Lukoil Refinery Kills Two

A fire broke out yesterday at a refinery run by Russia’s Lukoil in the northern Komi Republic, resulting in two fatalities, Reuters reported, citing Russia’s environmental regulator.

The head of the Komi Republic said, however, that the fire was not caused by a drone attack but by “failure to comply with safety rules,” according to the report.

“According to revised data, it was established that a fire occurred during routine technical works by a contracting company,” the Russian Ministry for Emergencies said.

This year, Ukraine has intensified attacks on oil refineries in Russia, which have reduced Russian refining capacity, and which, reportedly, have the White House concerned about rising international prices.

The United States has repeatedly urged Ukraine to halt its drone attacks on Russian oil refineries due to Washington’s assessment that the strikes could lead to Russian retaliation and push up global oil prices, the Financial Times reported last month, citing sources familiar with the exchange.

The drone attacks from Ukraine on Russian refineries could disrupt fuel markets globally, the International Energy Agency said in April, estimating that up to 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Russia’s refinery capacity could be offline in the second quarter.

To protect against drone attacks, one local oil company, Rosneft subsidiary Bahsneft, earlier this year installed metal mesh over its refining facilities. “We don't stop there. There are a number of solutions there, which I won't talk about yet. They are classified. But believe me, we worry about this very much,” the governor of the Bashkortostan region where Bashneft is based said at the time.

Earlier, there were suggestions to protect refineries with missile systems but, some military experts, point out, this would be an unwise decision.

“It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to have those systems laid out like polka dots on the interior of your country, especially one as vast as Russia. You really intercept these sorts of threats at the borders of your airspace, not the interior,” George Barros from the Washington Institute for the Study of War told Radio Free Europe last week.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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