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Posted
On 2/6/2025 at 1:22 PM, PTINS said:

The strike on the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant is "kind of a big deal." The mother of all fuel-air bombs.

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Damaging a Russian facility that makes transportation fuels, and money, is a prime target. Astrakhan is a world class Gas Processing Facility, with a capacity of ~ 1 BCF/day (Billion FT3/day) comparable to some of the larger facilities in the US, producing ~  9,000 tons/day of sulfur, ~ 5% of current world output. 9,000 tons/day is about 90 rail cars, or a train over a mile long.

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Gas from the USSR's Astrakhan field is one of the most difficult ever to be processed.

Acidic components comprise more than 38% of the composition, including 14% by vol carbon dioxide. "Acid Gas" refers to impurities that are acidic, namely Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), and other related sulfur compounds.  The sulfur compounds is what gives off the rotten egg smell associated with natural gas.

38% acid gas implies a very large % of H2S, possibly as high as 20+%.  Hydrogen Sulfide is lethal at concentrations of 500 parts per million (ppm).  Anything over 1,000 ppm (0.1%) is drop dead lethal. 

 Per Russian officials, 

 "Dear citizens, this morning the city was covered by a cloud of natural gas, which has a specific smell that appears after processing. I would like to warn Astrakhan residents that in the coming days before the plant returns to its scheduled operating mode, such situations are possible."

 "Natural gas is not hazardous to health in open spaces, and the air quality will return to normal in the near future."

As Jenny shouted when she sensed danger, "Run, Forrest! Run!

Processing gas includes removing the impurities, especially the ones that are dangerous and make the gas unsalable. Pure methane is odorless, and processed gas may have a faint sulfur smell due to the acceptable levels of impurities. The smell at Astrakhan is from the unprocessed gas being flared (bad) or vented (worse). 

If the gas is burned at high rates, incomplete combustion and lethal byproducts (sulfuric acid/acid rain) are probable.

If the gas is leaking unburned, that is a worst case scenario. It is lethal, and explosive.

It would be extremely unusual to have a flare system capable of flaring the full capacity of the plant. It appears that each of the well sites has a flare system. 

Per the screen shot from Google, you can see the 3 sets of flare stacks northeast of the plant, where gas would be burned in a controlled setting, with the flame at the top, ~ 200 feet above the ground.  Compare that to the picture in the OP with the uncontrolled fireballs at ground level. 🙂 !!!  This area is ~ 65 feet below sea level; very different than the high plains of West Texas.

Please note the size of the facility, the "process area" is ~ 1 mile long. That's a big f*cking gas plant.

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The plant is expected to be offline for some time, which makes for difficult choices. In the US, the plant would be down for a long time, given the potential threat to the general public. At least the "How did it happen?" part of the fire investigation is pretty easy. 

The smart move would be to shut-in he production, and not produce the gas. But shutting in the gas means shutting down the oil production. Depending on many related factors, shutting in the wells may damage the wells to the point of decreasing production, long term.

Newsweek - Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant - Russians Told Not to Panic as Attack on Gas Plant Unleashes Putrid Smell

 

Additional info related to Ukraine's similar strike in February 2025. 

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Posted
5 hours ago, PTINS said:

Whatever Ukraine damaged in February, it took Russia 6 months to get the plant back online.  With Ukraine's bigger and better drones and targeting accuracy, this may have been a haymaker. All it takes is a spark, or combing your hair, and ...

Sounds like they’re really starting to dial things in. I’m guessing they’ve got analysts who are looking at the whole picture. Like what regions are affected, what facilities downstream are affected, etc.  Someday this will be a niche strategy game where your goal is to cripple the Russian economy by taking out various parts of their oil and gas infrastructure.

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Posted
3 hours ago, flatdawgs said:

Hey @PTINS - I just wanted to thank you for sharing the depth of your knowledge in a way that makes sense to O&G laypeople. It really adds to my understanding of what Ukraine is trying to do and why it is (or isn't) effective. Stuff like this continues to make this the best thread on the board and it's much appreciated. 

Most welcome.

I was hired into a Management Development Program to find engineers that could run a company that was 100 years old, in 1975. It was all about training and development. My tangent was facilities planning and commercial development. 

Believe it or not, the opportunity to share information about O&G to some sweet thing you come across doesn't happen as often as you would think.

When it does, don't.  

I learned that right out of the gate. I graduated 3 months after 3 Mile Island and at the start of Iranian Revolution, and went to work for a regulated piece of the oil industry that was in danger of making too much money. They damn sure weren't going to stop making it. Hard for a new hire to justify the 300% bump in gasoline prices while I'm buying you drinks.  "You don't save the company money on your expense account, you save them money by doing a good job."

Jack Issel: Exactly what is our side of the Allenville story?
Max Landsberger: Were losing money hand over fist.
Jack Issel: That's not true.
Max Landsberger: No, but it's our side of the story. Lesson No.55: there are no truths, only stories.

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 I did find a better line.  "I've got coc..." 

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Posted

 

Quote

Ukraine has added glide bombs to its list of military ordnance, enabling Ukraine to send modified dumb bombs up to 100km away. This likely won’t alter the outcome of the war in Ukraine, but the democratization of this technology is setting off alarm bells in the US.

 

Joint Direct Attack Munitions were the bread-and-butter for the US military, maintaining a multi-decade monopoly on the precision strike technology...but all of that is changing. Now that Ukraine and Russia both have this tech in their hands, it's only a matter of time before it appears everywhere else.

 

This is yet another sign of the US stepping back from its role as global protector; meaning American strategic primacy is coming to an end.

 

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Posted

Denmark is going to start shooting them down apparently, as long as it's not over a populated area. A lot of people don't understand that they aren't shooting them down now partially because they want to see where they return to. I've seen people speculate that it's Russian subs launching and recovering them, but there's so much civilian commercial traffic flowing through that area, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a cargo ship. I don't see the Russians wanting to get their subs that close in.

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Posted

The US Air Force has signed a $26 million contract with Lockheed Martin, which will be an important step in supporting Ukraine's F-16 fighter jet acquisition program. Under this agreement, which will last until May 2029, special technical instructions tailored to Ukraine's unique needs and conditions will be developed, and the training program for ground personnel will be modified. These documents, better known as "technical manuals," are crucial for the safe and effective operation, maintenance, and repair of the aircraft. They will take into account the specifics of local infrastructure, limitations on deploying aircraft at operational airfields, and other unique features, continuing the transition from outdated Soviet-era aviation to more modern Western fighters.

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Posted
17 minutes ago, elfenix said:

Senseless...

And yet still arousing.....

You know what you don't see in those photos? A fucking tugboat following along, ready to tow our carrier into the nearest port when it breaks down. Looks like Russia is going to scrap their last carrier.  Wild to think that 2 years ago, they took 1,500 sailors off of their lone carrier and sent them to Ukraine as infantry.

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