Originally Posted by
meleagertoo
I find that a curiously naiive statement, as are the oft-heard claims that a hit on a cracking tower has "destroyed" a refinery. While it may be pleasant to wallow in congratulatory dreamland over small UKR victories it is necessary to put these events into some sort of perspective. A large oil refinery may have up to 70 - yes - seventy - cracking columns, a smaller one perhaps 30 according to a brief internet search. So whacking one or two will be no more than a brief inconvenience, and anyone who imagines Ruzzia "doesn't have the capacity" to build enough towers to equip one single small refinery is, imho, living in dreamland. They're only big steel tubes with a bit of plumbig attached after all. Long lead-timeto replace maybe, but even so. There's nothing very technical about them and the loss of two or three out of 30 is hardly going to make a vast difference to output. OK, that just cuts 10% (ie decimates) the output of a small refinery, and half that of a large one. Big deal unless you can keep hitting them all every week for six months or more.
What I was trying to get across was they are a single permanent target, unlike a myriad or roads and rail that can go in multiple branches and directions but still reach the same delivery point, hitting the towers will cause disruption from the fires, and rebuilding work, also multiple hits can stall that reconstruction. I also believe they are a lot more difficult to source than you believe.
They have stated the production is down 17% overall and there are fuel shortages.