ASTANA, October 21. /TASS/. Kazakhstan has felt the economic impact of a drone attack on a plant in Russia's Orenburg Region, the republic's Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said.

"[The decline in output totals] 9,000 tons, there are still restrictions, which means shortfalls in exports. Moreover, the acceptance of Kazakh gas at the Orenburg GPP (Gas Processing Plant - TASS) is currently limited; naturally, we receive this gas from the Russian Federation. Therefore, there is a certain economic impact," he told reporters.

There are currently no alternatives to processing gas from the Karachaganak field other than at the specified facility, Akkenzhenov noted. "At the moment, unfortunately, there are no (alternatives - TASS). About 9 bln cubic meters of our Karachaganak gas per year are processed at the Orenburg GPP," he said.

The minister does not expect the situation to affect gas consumers in Kazakhstan. "Various media outlets are currently spreading information that drone attacks will impact gas supplies to Kazakhstan. This is not true, I can officially assure you that we have all the tools, and additional gas supplies are planned," he said.

On October 19, Orenburg Region Governor Yevgeny Solntsev wrote on Telegram that drones had attacked an industrial facility, damaging its infrastructure and setting fire to one of its workshops.

The Kazakh energy ministry said later that, according to Gazprom, the plant had temporarily stopped receiving raw gas from the large Karachaganak field. The ministry added that, as a result, production at the field had been temporarily reduced. Akkenzhenov said that production levels were planned to be restored within three days.