Speaking on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Novak told journalists that the cost of shielding refineries from drone strikes is high, but "it is worth it," because "downtime of plants in case of a halt is big losses for enterprises."
According to Novak, refinery owners provide "passive protection" of facilities and coordinate with the Defense Ministry and the National Guard (Rosgvardia) on this matter. Enterprises cover the expenses from their own funds.
The deputy prime minister compared the level of protection of Russian refineries with that in the United Arab Emirates. "Believe me, we are no worse, and perhaps even better, given the experience gained over the past few months," Novak said.
He also reported that there have been no cases yet of energy facilities that failed to ensure adequate protection being transferred to external management. Novak called the corresponding presidential decree preventive: it is "designed to once again indicate incentives for enterprises to more actively engage in the constant protection of their facilities."
Novak clarified that planned summer repairs at refineries were postponed to later dates to ensure maximum fuel production and supplies to the domestic market. Currently, about 10% of enterprises are under repair. The day before, Vladimir Putin cited the same figure.
The fuel market, meanwhile, remains in crisis. The exchange price of AI-92 gasoline at trading on September 1 rose by 4.36%, to 75,477 rubles per ton, updating its historical maximum.