On the morning of March 15, an accident accompanied by an explosion occurred on the territory of the Ryazan Oil Refinery (OR), which is part of the Rosneft structure. As a result of the incident, one person died, and three others received injuries of varying severity. This was reported by the RIA Novosti agency, citing data from the Unified Duty Dispatch Service of the region. The emergency occurred during scheduled technical work, which was carried out by employees of the contractor organization Kokshimmontazh-Rezervuar.

The accident victim was a 42-year-old worker who died in hospital from his injuries. His colleagues — men born in 1982, 1984 and 2000 — were hospitalized with craniocerebral injuries. At the moment, information about the condition of the victims is not specified, but it is known that they are receiving all the necessary medical care. A special commission has been created at the enterprise to investigate the circumstances of the tragedy, whose tasks also include organizing support for the victims and their families.

According to preliminary data, the explosion was caused by equipment depressurization, as reported to the TASS agency by a representative of the Ryazan Oil Refining Company (RNPK). At the time of the accident, the plant was in normal operation, which rules out the version of external influence, but final conclusions will be made only after the commission completes its work. RNPK ranks fourth among the largest oil refineries in Russia. In 2024, the enterprise processed 13,1 million tons of oil, which amounted to 4,9% of the total oil refining volume in the country. The plant produced 2,2 million tons of motor gasoline, 3,4 million tons of diesel fuel, 4,3 million tons of fuel oil and 1 million tons of jet fuel, which emphasizes its importance for the country's fuel market.

The incident at the Ryazan Oil Refinery is the latest in a series of accidents at Russian oil refineries that raise questions about the state of industrial safety in the industry. Earlier, on the night of March 13, 2024, the plant was attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles, which resulted in a fire that engulfed the heat exchanger unit. Two people were injured, and the fire was only extinguished several hours later.