Fire erupts at Russia’s Novatek Baltic Sea terminal, operations suspended

A FIRE broke out at a Baltic Sea terminal belonging to Novatek, Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, regional officials said on Sunday (Jan 21), amid reports of explosions and Ukrainian drone sightings in the area.

The Ust-Luga complex, located on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km 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.

“There were no casualties as a result of the fire at the Novatek terminal in the port of Ust-Luga. The personnel were evacuated,” said Alexander Drozdenko, the Leningrad region’s governor.

Novatek said that work at the terminal had been suspended after the fire, which it said was the result of “external influence”. “The technological process at Novatek Ust-Luga has been stopped, and an operational headquarters has been established to eliminate the consequences. Damage assessment will be carried out later,” the company said.

Russian news agencies reported that two storage tanks and a pumping station had been damaged, but that the fire had been brought under control.

Drozdenko did not say what caused the blaze, but Russian news outlet Shot reported that local residents had heard a drone operating nearby, followed by several explosions.

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St Petersburg-based news outlet Fontanka said at least two drones were spotted in the sky flying towards St Petersburg before the terminal caught fire.

Russia and Ukraine have targeted each other’s energy infrastructure in strikes designed to disrupt supply lines and logistics, each side seeking to demoralise the other in a nearly two-year-old war that shows no sign of ending.

Last Friday, a drone attack hit an oil depot in Russia’s western region of Bryansk, bordering Ukraine, for which Moscow blamed Kyiv. That came a day after an attack on a Russian Baltic Sea oil terminal that Russian officials said was unsuccessful.

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There was no immediate comment on Sunday from Ukraine on the Novatek incident. Novatek did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Baza, a Russian news outlet known for its security services contacts, posted footage on Telegram of large flames shooting into the sky over what appeared to be an industrial complex.

Three international tanker ships were anchored near the fire, though there were no reports of damage to them, Fontanka reported.

Drozdenko said a “high-alert regime” had been introduced and that officials had gathered for an emergency meeting.

Novatek processed 3.4 million tonnes of stable gas condensate at the complex in the first half of 2023, according to the most recent data available, up 0.6 per cent from the same period a year earlier.