Rosneft expropriation does not yet save the Schwedt refinery

Berlin The fact that the federal government wants to secure the continued existence of the refinery by investing in Rosneft Germany, the majority owner of the refinery PCK Schwedt, has been an open secret for weeks. The amendment to the Energy Security Act (EnSiG), which was sometimes referred to as “Lex Rosneft”, paves the way for this. But there are a number of pitfalls.

The German government’s aim is to force Rosneft Germany, a subsidiary of the Russian oil company Rosneft, out of the refinery. With 54.17 percent, Rosneft Germany is the majority owner of the refinery, which is of essential importance for the supply of heating oil, petrol, diesel and kerosene for the greater Berlin-Brandenburg area and for western Poland.

The other shareholders are Shell (37.5 percent) and Eni (8.33 percent). The refinery is supplied almost exclusively with Russian oil via the “Druzhba” (“Friendship”) pipeline. Unlike the Czech Republic, for example, Germany has committed itself to refraining from pipeline oil from Russia from January 1, 2023.