Drone Hits Russia’s Northern Gas Heartland

A drone attack caused a fire at an industrial facility in Novy Urengoy in northern Russia on Wednesday, marking the first such attack on the country’s natural gas heartland. Regional Governor Dmitry Artyukhov did not identify the facility that was hit.

No one was killed or injured, Artyukhov said, adding that authorities were still assessing the extent and nature of the damage.

Novy Urengoy, Russia’s unofficial gas capital, is located in the Yamalo-Nenets region of northern Western Siberia, approximately 3,000 km from the Ukrainian border.

Russian energy giant Gazprom, which operates in the region, did not comment on the attack. The company estimated the region’s gas resources at 26.5tn cubic meters in 2020 – enough to meet global demand for more than six years. Gazprom previously exported gas from Yamal as far as Western Europe, until ties broke down following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

(Reuters, mja)