ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia—The Mongolian government has officially placed the construction site of the state-owned "Mongol Refinery" project under the direct protection of the country's Internal Troops (Homeland Troops). The decision reflects growing state intervention to secure critical energy infrastructure against civilian disruptions and foreign investment security threats.

Located in Altanshiree soum of Dornogobi province, 470km south-east from Ulaanbaatar, the Mongol Refinery—a landmark US$1.7 billion megaproject built with Indian line of credit financing by Exim Bank of India—represents Mongolia’s primary strategy to break its near-total reliance on Russian fuel imports and achieve energy independence.

Mobilizing Homeland Security Forces

Under the newly expanded security directive, specialized units from the Internal Troops of Mongolia will maintain round-the-clock perimeter enforcement, transport security, and checkpoint monitoring across the refinery site and its surrounding supply corridors.

Government officials cited national economic security when enacting the measure, classifying the construction zone as a strategic national facility where unauthorized access, protests, or work stoppages will carry strict legal penalties under internal security laws. At the project site, around 4,500 Indian workforce comprising of engineers and laborers are working around the clock in three shifts. Mongolian authorities are taking all the necessary measures to complete the Mongol Refinery construction at the earliest by second quarter of 2028. During the recent site visit by Prime Minister N.Uchral, he announced that the project site is given a status of Technological Industrial Park.

Direct Link to the Mongolia Foison Energy Incident

The government's rapid deployment of military-grade security at the Mongol Refinery comes as a direct response to a recent local protesters have raided on a Chinese-invested oil exploration camp in eastern Mongolia.

• The Camp Raid: Protesters illegally entered a temporary housing and operational camp belonging to Mongolia Foison Energy at the Kherlen Tohoi XXVIII block in Sukhbaatar province. Demonstrators live-streamed the raid through social media while vandalizing equipment and dumping the belongings of Chinese workers onto the ground.
• Diplomatic Fallout: The Chinese Embassy in Ulaanbaatar voiced "serious concerns" over the safety of its nationals and enterprises, prompting an official apology from Mongolia's Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.
• State Crackdown: Law enforcement detained two leading protester women for 30 days pending criminal charges.

Safeguard for National Energy Security

Because the Mongol Refinery depends on a continuous upstream supply of domestic crude oil from eastern exploration blocks, the Mongolian Cabinet recognized that unrest at private exploration sites poses a direct risk to the national refinery's future operational viability.

By placing the main Mongol Refinery construction zone under the Internal Troops, Mongolian authorities aims to send a clear message to both local activist groups and international investors: vital national energy infrastructure will be protected by state security forces against any illegal interference.