The German government has extended the trusteeship of the PCK refinery in Schwedt to the Federal Network Agency so that Rosneft can conclude negotiations with one of its owners and sell its assets in Germany.
The German government has extended the trusteeship of the PCK refinery in Schwedt until 10 March next year. The German companies Rosneft, Rosneft Deutschland GmbH and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH own 54.17% of the shares, which have been managed by the Federal Network Agency since autumn 2022.
“Rosneft said the sale of Rosneft Germany is actively underway and should be completed before the end of the year,” – the German Ministry of Economics reported.
Previously, the trust’s management mandate was valid until September 10 this year, and as Reuters reports citing sources, it was extended so that Rosneft could resolve all issues relating to the sale of assets in Germany to one of its owners, Qatar. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund owns 18.5% of Rosneft.
Due diligence between the two sides is ongoing, but reaching an agreement may take time, the source said. Last week, the German government confirmed that there had been regular exchanges of views with Qatar over the past three months on investment opportunities, without specifying whether a possible purchase of Rosneft assets was one of the topics of discussion. – writes Reuters.
The agency noted that German energy security laws allow for the expropriation of Rosneft’s refinery if a sale cannot be agreed, as was the case with Gazprom Germania (now SEFE), which belonged to Gazprom.
Rosneft tried to challenge the trust management decision in court, but to no avail.
The Schwedt refinery has a capacity of 12 million tons per year. Berlin and Brandenburg depend on the plant for 90 percent. In addition, the Russian company’s German companies own shares in the MiRo and Bayernoil refineries, and the total assets are valued at $7 billion.
