Gas pipeline fire disrupts supplies to Russian chemical plant producing explosives precursors
A fire at a major gas pipeline in Russia's Kemerovo Oblast disrupted supplies to a chemical plant that produces substances used in the manufacture of explosives, regional authorities said on November 5.
Kemerovo Governor Ilya Seredyuk reported a loss of pressure caused by a breach in the pipeline in the Topki municipal district. He did not report an explosion or identify the cause of the incident.
The fire was subsequently extinguished, according to the governor. Residential consumers were switched to backup gas lines to prevent heating outages.
Gas supplies to the Azot chemical plant in the city of Kemerovo were temporarily restricted.
Seredyuk later said gas pressure at the plant had stabilized and production facilities were gradually returning to normal operating levels. The cause of the pipeline failure remained under investigation.
According to the independent Russian outlet Astra, Azot is one of Russia's largest chemical producers and is subject to international sanctions. It manufactures ammonium nitrate and nitric acid, substances that can be used to produce explosives.
The Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported that the incident was the second major fire involving a Russian gas pipeline within a month, following a fire in Penza Oblast on October 13.
There is no confirmed evidence that either incident was caused by sabotage.
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