Reuters: Drone-hit Moscow oil refinery unlikely to resume production this year

Moscow's oil refinery will be offline for at least six months after suffering extensive damage in Ukrainian drone attacks, two industry sources said on Wednesday, ​complicating Russian efforts to tackle fuel shortages across the world's ​largest country, Report informs via Reuters.

The refinery, located on the southern outskirts of the ⁠Russian capital, is the largest fuel supplier to the Moscow region. ​It was hit twice this month by Ukrainian drones, forcing it to halt ​operations.

"It will take at least half a year to repair," one of the sources said of the damage to the Moscow refinery.

Ukraine has stepped up ​attacks on Russian energy infrastructure with long-range drone strikes. Russia, meanwhile, has continued firing ‌missiles ⁠at targets in and around Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian strikes have knocked out a significant part of Russia's oil refining capacity, triggering oil product shortages, fuel price increases and long queues at filling stations ​in many regions ​across the country's ⁠11 time zones.

The Moscow plant, which has been targeted multiple times, processed 11.6 million metric tons of ​oil in 2024, producing 2.9 million tons of petrol ​and 3.2 ⁠million tons of diesel, the latest available data shows.

Faced with a fuel crunch, Russia is considering a diesel export ban, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak ⁠said ​on Tuesday. The Vedomosti newspaper, meanwhile, reported ​that fuel imports were being considered to tackle shortages, especially in Crimea, where sales of ​gasoline to the public have been suspended.