Fire breaks out at Russia’s Novatek gas terminal

St Petersburg [Russia]: A fire broke out at Russian independent natural gas producer Novatek’s terminal in the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad Region, TASS reported citing the region’s governor, on Sunday.

“There are no reported casualties as a result of a fire at Novatek’s terminal in the port of Ust-Luga. The staff was evacuated… A high alert regime has been introduced in the Kingisepp district,” Governor Alexander Drozdenko said.

The governor also said that the Russian Emergencies Ministry and local firefighting units were at the scene to douse the fire, as reported by TASS.

The Marine Traffic website previously noted the presence of up to five fuel tankers, displaying flags from Panama, Gabon, Liberia, and Greece, anchored near the Ust-Luga port.

Novatek’s official website provided insights into the Ust-Luga Complex, emphasising its role as a gas condensate fractionation and transhipment facility situated at the all-season port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea.

The complex, operational since 2013, processes stable gas condensate to produce light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, ship fuel components (fuel oil), and gasoil. Additionally, it facilitates the transportation of these value-added petroleum products to international markets.

The Ust-Luga Complex boasts the capacity to transship stable gas condensate to export markets, with an initial capacity of 6 million tonnes that increased to 7 million tonnes per year after the launch of a new plant.

The incident prompted a coordinated response from local and national authorities to address the fire swiftly and minimise potential environmental and operational repercussions, TASS reported.