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MOSCOW, January 15 Lukoil will strive to complete repairs at the catalytic cracking unit at the Nizhny Novgorod refinery before spring, the Kommersant newspaper writes, citing its sources. .
“In January, Lukoil’s catalytic cracking unit at the Nizhny Novgorod refinery, which allows the production of high-octane gasoline, failed, several Kommersant interlocutors said. According to them, the reason for its shutdown on January 4 was the breakdown of foreign compressor equipment, which cannot be replaced in the near future time due to Western sanctions. Interlocutors… claim that Lukoil will strive to complete repairs at this installation by spring,» the material says.
In total, the Nizhny Novgorod Refinery has two catalytic cracking units, commissioned in 2010 and 2015. The older installation has now been taken out of service. At the same time, on December 26, as Kommersant’s interlocutors clarify, a breakdown occurred at the installation commissioned in 2015, but since then it has been able to be launched at a lower power. In addition, on December 21, Lukoil itself reported a fire at one of its installations.
The accident was the first known case where a shortage of equipment due to international sanctions could lead to a “loss of production” of a significant amount of high-octane fuel, the publication emphasizes. And the Nizhny Novgorod refinery is important for supplying the Moscow region, which accounts for about 30% of gasoline consumption in the country. Thus, gasoline was delivered to Moscow via pipeline, and “compensation shipments” from other refineries will most likely have to be transported by rail, which will lead to a significant increase in delivery times and costs.
Kommersant's sources also note that Lukoil stopped sales of AI-95 gasoline on the stock exchange as of January 10, and as a result, the stock price of fuel went up. According to two sources of the newspaper, this tactic of the oil company is explained by the desire to provide fuel to its own gas stations. However, this provokes market participants to stock up on fuel.