Exclusive-Moscow oil refinery hit by drone attacks is unlikely to resume production this year, sources say

June 24 (Reuters) - Moscow's oil refinery will be offline for at least six months after suffering extensive damage in Ukrainian drone attacks, two industry sources said on Wednesday, complicating Russian efforts to tackle fuel shortages across the world's largest country.

The refinery, located on the southern outskirts of the Russian capital, is the largest fuel supplier to the Moscow region. It was hit twice this month by Ukrainian drones, forcing it to halt operations.

"It will take at least half a year to repair," one of the sources said of the damage to the Moscow refinery.

Gazprom Neft, which operates the plant, did not reply to a request for comment.

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure with long-range drone strikes. Russia, meanwhile, has continued firing missiles at energy and defence-related targets in and around Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian strikes have knocked out a significant part of Russia's oil refining capacity, triggering oil product shortages, fuel price increases and long queues at filling stations in many regions across the country's 11 time zones. 

The Moscow plant, which has been targeted multiple times, processed 11.6 million metric tons of oil in 2024, producing 2.9 million tons of petrol and 3.2 million tons of diesel, the latest available data shows.

Faced with a fuel crunch, Russia is considering a diesel export ban, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday. The Vedomosti newspaper, meanwhile, reported that fuel imports were being considered to tackle shortages, especially in Crimea, where sales of gasoline to the public have been suspended. 

(Reporting by ReutersEditing by David Goodman)