Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 19, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
The Orenburg gas plant halts gas intake from Kazakhstan after a Ukrainian drone strike causes a fire, disrupting operations.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Orenburg gas processing plant, the largest facility of its kind in the world, has been forced to suspend its intake of gas from Kazakhstan after a Ukrainian drone attack, Kazakhstan's energy ministry said on Sunday.
Orenburg regional governor Yevgeny Solntsev had said earlier on Sunday that the plant had been partially damaged and that the drone strike had caused a fire to break out at a workshop at the plant. The fire was later put out, Russian media outlet Kommersant reported, citing the operator.
Ukraine, which confirmed it hit a gas processing plant in the Orenburg region and an oil refinery in the Samara region, has stepped up its attacks on Russian refineries and other energy facilities since August to try to disrupt petrol supplies and deprive Moscow of funding.
Ukrainian military said there were explosions and fire at the site.
It is the first reported strike on the plant, which forms part of the Orenburg gas chemical complex.
The facility, operated by Gazprom, has an annual processing capacity of 45 billion cubic metres and handles gas condensate from both the Orenburg oil and gas field and Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak field.
Kazakhstan's energy ministry said Gazprom had notified it of the emergency but had yet to provide details on the extent of the damage or a timeline for resuming full operations.
Nobody was reported to have been hurt in the attack.
Separately, the governor of Russia's Samara region, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, said on social media that air defences had also been in action overnight against Ukrainian drones and that the local airport and mobile internet services had been temporarily suspended.
Ukraine has previously tried to strike an oil refinery in the Samara region.
Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement that its air defence forces had shot down 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 12 over the Samara region, 11 over the Saratov region, and one over the Orenburg region.
(Reporting by Reuters Moscow Buro and Tamara Vaal Editing by Andrew Osborn and Louise Heavens)
A gas processing plant is an industrial facility that processes natural gas to remove impurities and separate natural gas liquids. This ensures that the gas meets quality specifications for transportation and sale.
A drone strike refers to an attack carried out by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is often used in military operations to target specific locations or individuals.
Gazprom is a state-owned energy company in Russia, primarily involved in the extraction, production, and distribution of natural gas. It is one of the largest companies in the world by revenue.
Gas condensate is a type of hydrocarbon liquid that is produced during the extraction of natural gas. It is often used as a raw material in the petrochemical industry.
Energy facilities, such as gas processing plants and oil refineries, are crucial for the production and distribution of energy resources. They play a key role in the economy by ensuring energy supply and stability.
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