Ukrainian drones struck Rosneft’s Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery on the night of Oct. 18–19, according to a statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Reuters reported that crude processing at the refinery had stopped, with sources saying operations may resume in November.
This is the fifth time Ukrainian drones have targeted Novokuybyshevsk since Russia’s invasion in 2022. Four of those strikes occurred in 2025 and one in March 2024. Reports indicated that primary refining units were hit and that fires broke out in the vicinity.
Operators from the 14th Separate UAV Regiment carried out the operation on the refinery in Samara Oblast, Russia, approximately 900 kilometers from the front line in Ukraine.
“Right now, the market is well supplied, and even if exports from Russia stop completely it won’t create a big problem,” Denis Varaksin, the director of base oils and lubricants at DYM Resources GmbH, told Lube Report. “It can maybe stabilize prices, as they are on the slide the last few months for Group I base oils. Group III is more stable recently.”
When running normally, Novokuybyshevsk produces a range of products, including 260,000 metric tons per year of API Group I base oil. The refinery mainly supplies the domestic market, but it could impact export flow as well.
There were also reports that a fuel and lubricant storage facility in Berdiansk, in Ukraine’s occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, was hit, as was the Orenburg gas processing plant in Russia. Orenburg is one of the largest gas processing plants in the world.