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Russia suspends operations at fuel

export terminal after suspected
Ukrainian drone attack
By Andrew Osborn and Maxim Rodionov
January 22, 2024 4:46 AM GMT+8 · Updated 11 hours ago

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Summary Companies

Huge fire breaks out at Baltic export terminal

Energy company Novatek suspends some operations there
Ukrainian drone attack was responsible - Ukrainian media
Nearby critical infrastructure placed on high alert

Jan 21 (Reuters) - Russian energy company Novatek (NVTK.MM) said on Sunday it had been forced to
suspend some operations at a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal due to a fire started by what Ukrainian
media said was a drone attack.

The giant Ust-Luga complex, located on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km (110 miles) west of St.
Petersburg, is used to ship oil and gas products to international markets. It processes stable gas
condensate - a type of light oil - into light and heavy naphtha, kerosene and diesel to be shipped by sea.

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It was not clear how long the disruption would last, how many tankers would have to idle outside the port,
and what the knock-on effect would be on international energy markets.

Critical infrastructure facilities in the surrounding Leningrad region were placed on high alert, with security
units and law enforcement agencies ordered to destroy any drones detected, the regional administration
said on Telegram.

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The Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing unnamed sources, said the fire was the result of a special
operation carried out by Ukraine's security services.

"The Ust-Luga Oil terminal ... is an important facility for the enemy. Fuel is refined there, which, among
other things, is also supplied to Russian troops," it cited one source as saying.

"A successful attack on such a terminal not only causes economic damage to the enemy ... but also
significantly complicates the logistics of fuel for the Russian military."

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Reuters could not confirm that the fire resulted from a Ukrainian drone attack.

If it did, such an attack would demonstrate Kyiv's ability to conduct strikes deeper into Russia than usual
using what are believed to be domestically produced drones at a time when it is on the defensive on the
battlefield and struggling to secure as much Western financing as it wants.

Such an attack, the latest in a spate of apparent strikes in recent days targeting Russian energy facilities,
would also raise awkward questions about the quality of Russian air defence systems around key
infrastructure facilities.

The incident, along with what Russia says was a Ukrainian artillery strike on civilians in a Russian-held city
in eastern Ukraine that left at least 25 dead, could prompt wider Russian retaliation in a war which shows
no sign of ending.

[1/3] Firefighters work to extinguish fire at a terminal belonging to Novatek, Russia's largest liquefied natural gas
producer, in the port of Ust-Luga, Russia, January 21, 2024. Head of Administration of Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad
Region Yuri Zapalatsky Telegram channel via REUTERS Acquire Licensing Rights

Alexander Drozdenko, the Leningrad region's governor, said on the Telegram messaging app, that there
had been no casualties at the Ust-Luga terminal and all workers had been safely evacuated.

Russian news agencies reported that two storage tanks and a pumping station had been damaged, but
that the fire had been brought under control.

Novatek, which is Russia's largest liquefied natural gas producer, said in a statement it had suspended
some operations after the fire which it said was the result of "external influence."

"The technological process at Novatek-Ust-Luga has been stopped, and an operational headquarters has
been established to eliminate the consequences. Damage assessment will be carried out later," the
company said.

Russian news outlet Shot reported that local residents had heard a drone operating nearby followed by
several explosions.

Russia and Ukraine have targeted each other's energy infrastructure in strikes designed to disrupt supply
lines and logistics, each side seeking to demoralise the other.

On Friday, a drone attack hit an oil depot in Russia's western region of Bryansk, bordering Ukraine, for
which Moscow blamed Kyiv. That came a day after an attack on a Russian Baltic Sea oil terminal that
Russian officials said was unsuccessful.

Baza, a Russian news outlet known for its security services contacts, posted footage on Telegram on
Sunday of large flames shooting into the sky over what appeared to be an industrial complex.

Three international tanker ships were anchored near the Ust-Luga terminal, though there were no reports
of damage to them from the fire, the St Petersburg-based Fontanka outlet said.

Drozdenko said a "high alert regime" had been introduced and that officials had gathered for an
emergency meeting.

Novatek processed 3.4 million tons of stable gas condensate at the complex in the first half of 2023,
according to the most recent data available, up 0.6% from the same period a year earlier.

Reporting by Maxim Rodionov and Andrew Osborn Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Pavel Polityuk and Lidia
Kelly; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by William Mallard, Hugh Lawson, Susan Fenton and Conor Humphries

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Andrew Osborn
Thomson Reuters

As Russia Chief Political Correspondent, and former Moscow bureau chief, Andrew helps lead
coverage of the world's largest country, whose political, economic and social transformation under
President Vladimir Putin he has reported on for much of the last two decades, along with its growing
confrontation with the West and wars in Georgia and Ukraine. Andrew was part of a Wall Street
Journal reporting team short-listed for a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. He has also
reported from Moscow for two British newspapers, The Telegraph and The Independent.

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