Lukoil halts oil production after Ukrainian drone attack – Reports

A major Russian oil and gas platform in the Caspian Sea has halted production after a first-of-its-kind attack by a Ukrainian drone, several news agencies reported on Thursday, citing the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

According to Reuters, at least four long-range drones hit the Filanovsky drilling platform, halting production at more than 20 oil and gas wells operated by Russia's second-largest oil company, Lukoil.

"This is Ukraine's first strike on Russian infrastructure related to oil production in the Caspian Sea," a source in the SBU said.

Kyiv has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lukoil did not comment on reports of drone strikes 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

The Filanovsky drilling platform is one of the largest in the Russian part of the Caspian Sea with a production capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil per day, or 6 million tons per year.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported the shooting down of a Ukrainian drone over the Caspian Sea on Monday afternoon and has not reported any interceptions in the region since then.

Lukoil discovered the oil field in 2005 and began production in 2016.

The rig is part of a larger Lukoil complex with estimated reserves of 129 million tons of oil and 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas, much of which is transported to the Black Sea via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which has been the target of several Ukrainian drone strikes in recent months.