Western analysts keep asking whether Ukraine's campaign against Russian refineries is actually working. I ran Russia's largest oil company and my answer is yes.
Russia appears to be in a slow process of devolution to somewhere in the 19th century, which perfectly fits Putin’s worldview. We will see refineries collapse and planes fail due to lack of maintenance and spare parts. I wish it could be averted but Putin is hell bent on keeping the war going.
If the cracking towers are badly damaged and new catalysts are required the Russians have to look westward to suppliers such as BASF, Shell, Albermarle, W.R.Grace & Co. Unfortunately there are two Chinese companies that might step in, Sinopec and SNPC.
Thank you for a most informative essay. I follow Ukraine closely. (And I studied Russia for decades.)
Russia appears to be in a slow process of devolution to somewhere in the 19th century, which perfectly fits Putin’s worldview. We will see refineries collapse and planes fail due to lack of maintenance and spare parts. I wish it could be averted but Putin is hell bent on keeping the war going.
Logical essay. Thank you for posting.
If the cracking towers are badly damaged and new catalysts are required the Russians have to look westward to suppliers such as BASF, Shell, Albermarle, W.R.Grace & Co. Unfortunately there are two Chinese companies that might step in, Sinopec and SNPC.