Kstovo Refinery

Kstovo Refinery

Satellite imagery of Kstovo Refinery
Location of Kstovo Refinery Show map of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Kstovo Refinery (European Russia) Show map of European Russia
City	Kstovo, Russia
Coordinates	56°06′21″N 44°08′38″E
Refinery details
Operator	Lukoil
Commissioned	1958
No. of employees	~2,400
Website	nnos.lukoil.ru

The Kstovo Refinery, also known as Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez (Russian: Лукойл-Нижегороднефтеоргсинтез) is an oil refinery plant in the Russian city of Kstovo, one of the largest in the country. This refinery has belonged to the Russian company Lukoil since 2001.

History

Soviet Era

In October 1950, the Soviet Council of Ministers approved a resolution for constructing an oil refinery near the city of Nizhny Novgorod.[1] The local councils then collected surrounding farmlands and began construction.[2]

On August 23, 1958, a celebration was held at the plant for the completion of construction, and the plant began sending off finished products.^[citation needed]

Privatization

In the 1990s, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a private company was created to regulate the plant, called "Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez" (Russian: Нижегороднефтеоргсинтез). The production output in 1997 was at 12.3 million tons, and exported as far west as Hungary and east as Tatarstan.[3]

In 2001, the company became part of the large corporation Lukoil, which owned over 80% of its shares by 2006.[4]

In 2010, Lukoil made an investment worth $975 million to create a new complex at the plant, which was expected to increase production from 1.8 to 3.2 million tons per year.[5] By 2024, capacity was 17 million tons per year.[6]

In 2022, the company made an investment worth 100 billion rubles to create a new complex for processing oil residue, which is expected to improve^[quantify] production.[7]

During 2024, the third year following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces began a series of drone and missile attacks on military and oil production targets deep in Russian territory, attacks that were not attempted during the first nine years of the Russo-Ukrainian War. On 29 January 2025, Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Kstovo Refinery, located approximately 800 km (500 mi) from the border with Ukraine, causing several explosions and resulting in large fires in several units. Ukrainian military sources claimed that 4 of the 4 drones sent struck their targets. Local residents reported at least three explosions inside the refinery. Russian officials downplayed the extent of the damage.[6][8][9] Two days later, Russian authorities clarified that that blaze burned for two days at the petrochemical plant and Sibur (the operator of the plant) said they had temporarily shut operations at the plant down.[10]

References

1. "Олег Юзифович «Вагит Алекперов и его команда: Заводчане. Книга вторая»" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
2. "«Кстово: От села до индустриального города»". Kstovo city website. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
3. "НОРСИ-ОЙЛ". АСМО Press. Archived from the original on June 16, 2003.
4. "Кстовский НПЗ приступил к размещению допэмиссии объемом более 3,5 млн. рублей". Novosti Poltava. November 10, 2006. Archived from the original on 2011-11-06.
5. "ОАО «Лукойл»". Lukoil. Archived from the original on 2011-09-03. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
6. "Major fire hits Russian Lukoil refinery in Kstovo, officials suspect drone attack". PolskieRadio. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
7. "Инвестиции будущего: во что вложатся инвесторы в Нижегородской области" (in Russian). newsnn.ru. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019.
8. "'4 out of 4' — Russian Lukoil oil refinery struck by multiple Ukrainian drones, military intelligence source claims". Yahoo news. 28 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
9. "Ukraine Says It Hit Second Major Russian Oil Refinery in a Week". Bloomberg. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
10. "Blaze at Russian petrochemical works extinguished two days after Ukrainian strike, TASS says". Reuters. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.