Ukrainian long-range drones struck Gazprom Neft’s Omsk refinery on Monday, disrupting production at Russia’s largest API Group II and III base oil plant. Industry sources told Lube Report that the country’s exports have virtually stopped and lubricant prices are beginning to rise.#
The Gazprom Neft complex at Omsk is the largest refinery in Russia, with crude refining capacity exceeding 21 million metric tons per year. It includes the country’s largest Group II and III base oil plant, capable of producing 220,000 tons annually. The site also houses a finished lubricants blending plant with annual capacity of 300,000 tons and manufactures white oils derived from domestic paraffinic crude.
The strike, confirmed by both Ukrainian and Russian officials, sparked several fires across the sprawling refinery complex, seen in videos circulating online. The facility is located nearly 2,500 kilometers from Ukrainian territory near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan and is one of Kyiv’s deepest strikes inside the country since the start of the full-scale invasion and underscores the growing impact of the attacks on its lubricant supply chain.
For the lubricants industry, Omsk is arguably the most significant refinery struck since Ukraine began targeting Russian oil infrastructure.
Industry sources familiar with the refinery said the attack reportedly damaged the atmospheric-vacuum distillation unit, or AVT, the refinery’s primary crude processing unit. Some industry experts estimated that the attack may have taken about one-third of the Omsk refinery’s capacity offline.
“My source said only the AVT was damaged. Since it is the primary processing unit, it will also affect base oil production, although I don’t yet know the extent of the impact on lubricant output,” Denis Varaksin, base oil trader at Berlin-based DYM Resources, told Lube Report.
He added that Russian base oil exports have “practically stopped since early June” following damage at several refineries.
Any prolonged disruption could tighten supplies of premium base oils within Russia at a time when domestic refiners are already under mounting pressure from repeated attacks on refining infrastructure.
Signs of tightening supply may already be reaching the finished lubricant market.
Kamal Magomedov, owner of an automotive service business in Makhachkala, said Lukoil recently informed distributors that prices for finished lubricants, including passenger car motor oils, would increase by as much as 80% over the next two months.
“The increase will be phased in over two months,” Magomedov said. “The reasons cited are higher logistics costs and rising prices for chemical additives.”
This could not be independently verified, and Lukoil has not publicly announced any price hikes.
Ukraine’s General Staff said the strike caused a fire at the refinery, while Omsk regional governor Vitaly Khotsenko confirmed the attack and said emergency crews were responding. Russian authorities reported no casualties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as evidence of Ukraine’s growing long-range strike capability.
“Today, our long-range sanctions reached the oil refinery in Omsk — nearly 2,500 kilometers from Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address, calling the operation “a significant blow to Russia’s oil economy.”
The Omsk refinery is the largest of Russia’s 11 major gasoline-producing refineries to be struck by Ukrainian forces since the drone campaign began, according to Ukraine’s military. Kyiv says the campaign against Russian refineries, oil terminals and energy transportation infrastructure is retaliation for continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian and energy facilities.
The attack follows recent long-range strikes against several facilities critical to Russia’s lubricant industry, including Tatneft’s Taneco refinery and Sibur’s Nizhnekamskneftekhim complex in Tatarstan, home to Russia’s only producer of polyalphaolefin synthetic base stocks. Other recent targets include the Perm, Ryazan and Volgograd refineries, all significant producers of base oils and finished lubricants.
While most affected facilities have resumed operations after repairs, the repeated attacks are increasing operational risks across Russia’s base oil and lubricant and fuel supply chain. Russian motorists are increasingly facing long queues at gasoline stations and rising fuel prices, even in major cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg. With Omsk now joining the growing list of damaged refining assets, the campaign has expanded beyond disrupting fuel production to threatening some of the country’s most important producers of lubricants.