The Schwedt refinery needs 400 million euros from the federal government
The oil refinery in Schwedt, Brandenburg, is to be subsidized with state aid of 400 million euros. According to a statement from the Brandenburg State Chancellery, Ralf Schairer, Managing Director of PCK Schwedt, said on Tuesday that the corresponding application had already been submitted to the Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin last Friday. The hoped-for money should be used to upgrade the pipeline from Rostock to Schwedt. It was also intended to fund adjustments to source and then process crude oil from countries other than Russia.
Because of the sanctions against Russia in the wake of the attack on Ukraine, new suppliers have to be found. In this context, Michael Kellner, parliamentary state secretary in the Greens-led Ministry of Economic Affairs, referred to long-term contracts for the purchase of crude oil from Kazakhstan. Further quantities are to reach Schwedt via the ports of Rostock and Gdansk. In the past, Russian oil came directly to Schwedt by pipeline.
The Russian oil company Rosneft holds a 54 percent majority in the refinery, which is important for the petrol supply in the greater Berlin area, among other things. However, the shares were put under trusteeship because of the war. In the meantime, the legal prerequisites have been created with which the federal government can sell the shares. Because the Polish port of Gdansk now plays an important role, the government in Warsaw is pushing for Rosneft to be excluded and for the Polish utility Orlen to have a stake in the refinery. Beyond Rosneft, 37 percent of the shares are held by Shell and a good eight percent by the Italian ENI.