A fire broke out at a Baltic Sea terminal belonging to Novatek (NVTK.MM), opens new tab, Russia's largest liquefied natural gas producer, after a suspected Ukrainian drone attack, forcing the company to suspend some operations there.
The Ust-Luga complex, located on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km (110 miles) west of St. Petersburg, processes stable gas condensate into light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil and gasoil, according to Novatek's website. The port is used to ship processed products to international markets.
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 in the Leningrad region 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, depriving the occupiers of the opportunity to earn money to wage war in Ukraine, but also significantly complicates the logistics of fuel for the Russian military."
Reuters could not confirm that the fire resulted from a Ukrainian drone attack.
Alexander Drozdenko, the Leningrad region's governor, said on the Telegram messaging app, that there had been no casualties and that 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 now been brought under control.
Novatek said in a statement it had suspended some operations after the fire which it said was the result of "external influence."
