Fire reported at Europe’s largest oil storage hub after explosions in Russia’s Samara

A fire has been reported at a major oil storage and distribution facility near Samara, Russia, following a series of explosions overnight on Friday, with independent outlet Astra saying the site was likely targeted in an attack.

According to Astra’s open-source analysis, the facility is the Samara Linear Production and Dispatch Station (LPDS), part of the Transneft pipeline network and home to what has been described as Europe’s largest oil storage tank park. 

The complex covers more than 216 hectares and has 71 storage tanks with a combined capacity of more than 1.6 million cubic metres of crude oil. It also includes the Samara-1 and Samara-2 pumping stations and a separate oil-blending facility.

Four major trunk pipelines converge at the facility, bringing crude from Western Siberia, Tatarstan, the Orenburg region and Kazakhstan. The site therefore serves as a major oil transportation and distribution hub within Russia’s pipeline network.