Russia's Ilsky oil refinery has applied for government financial help mainly due to high interest rates and facility modernisation, it said on Monday, but added there was no risk of it shutting down and that it remained profitable.
The sources said the plants are also under pressure after Russia's central bank raised interest rates to 21% from 19% last month, their highest level since the early years of President Vladimir Putin's rule.
"There is no risk of stopping the refinery; we continue to work and are gradually reaching the standard refining volume," the mid-sized Ilsky plant said in emailed comments.
It said it aimed to process around 300,000 tons (73,300 barrels per day) of crude oil in November and to reach production capacity in December.
Its refining capacity stands at around 138,000 bpd.
"Requests to the relevant ministries were indeed part of the development of possible measures of state support, and are carried out routinely and on an ongoing basis. To a greater extent, they concern agreements on the modernisation of production, as well as increasing the key rate," the plant said in emailed comments.
It did not specify when it applied for help.
DRONE ATTACKS
The Ilsky plant, located in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, also said that it had been subject to Ukrainian drone attacks which it said were not "systematic" and that it was tackling the consequences quickly using its own resources.
Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure since the start of 2023, calling them retaliation for Russia's strikes on its energy facilities.
Russia calls the attacks an "act of terrorism".
