ST. PETERSBURG, Jan 21, 2024 (BSS/TASS) - A fire broke out at Russian independent natural gas producer Novatek's terminal in the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad Region, the region's governor reported on Sunday.

"There are no reported casualties as a result of a fire at Novatek's terminal in the port of Ust-Luga. The staff was evacuated... A high alert regime has been introduced in the Kingisepp district," Governor Alexander Drozdenko stated.

The governor added that the Russian Emergencies Ministry and local firefighting units were at the scene to put out the fire.

The Marine Traffic website reported earlier that up to five fuel tankers flying national flags of Panama, Gabon, Liberia and Greece were anchored near the port of Ust-Luga.

According to the official website of Novatek, the Ust-Luga Complex is a gas condensate fractionation and transshipment complex located at the all-season port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea. The Ust-Luga Complex processes stable gas condensate into light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, ship fuel component (fuel oil) and gasoil, and enables us to ship the value-added petroleum products to international markets.

The Ust-Luga Complex also allows for transshipment of stable gas condensate to the export markets. The complex was put into operation in 2013. Its capacity was 6 million tons, after the launch of the new plant it increased to 7 million tons per year.