MOSKOU (REUTERS) – The governor of the Russian region of Astrakhan told residents not to panic on Wednesday after the most important city, close to a huge gas chemical complex that was attacked this week by Ukrainian drones, was dressed in a cloud of natural gas.
Governor Igor Babushkin said that the gas that people could smell was the result of the work to restart production in the factory near the southern city of Astrakhan, who has a population of around 475,000 people.
“Dear citizens, this morning the city was covered by a cloud of natural gas, which has a specific scent that appears after the processing,” he wrote on Telegram.
Familiar news and daily pleasure, exactly in your inbox
Watch yourself-the Yodel is the source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.
“Specialists carry out restoration work and production started this morning. Now the start-up and adjustment process is underway, including the launch of flare fires.”
He did not make it clear which production was restarted. Three sources from the industry told Reuters on Tuesday that the Astrakhan Gas Processing would probably hang up motor fuel production for a few months.
Babushkin said that some gas flares were extinguished when the factory was closed after the attack, and the restart required a release of gas that was then “inflamed, such as on a household gas stove”.
He said the weather service predicted that the gas cloud would leave the city.
“Natural gas is not dangerous for health in open spaces – in the near future the condition of the atmospheric air will normalize,” he said.
“I want to warn the inhabitants of Astrakhan, in the coming days before the factory returns to the planned business mode, such situations are possible. Not in panic!”
Some residents of Astrakhan responded with sarcastic comments on social media.
“You see – natural gas is not dangerous. Breathe deep,” wrote a person.
Another posted: “It is 60 km from Aksarisk (the location of the plant) to Astrakhan! And the scent is so strong. What about the villages that are closer to Aksaraisk?”
The Astrakhan factory is one of the world's largest gas chemical complexes. It processed 1.8 million tonnes of stable gas condensate and produced 800,000 tonnes of gasoline, 600,000 tons of diesel and 300,000 tons of fuel oil in 2024, according to sources from the industry.
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; adaptation by Angus Macswan)
