ZIn order to ensure the operation of the refineries in Schwedt, Karlsruhe and Vohburg, the federal government places the crude oil importers Rosneft Germany (RDG) and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH under trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency. This was announced by the Federal Ministry of Economics on Friday morning in Berlin.
The Federal Network Agency is thus taking control of Rosneft Germany and thus also of the respective share in the three refineries PCK Schwedt, MiRo (Karlsruhe) and Bayernoil (Vohburg), the ministry announced. The trust management will take effect this Friday and is initially limited to six months. The companies concerned have to bear the costs for this.
The Federal Network Agency appointed the lawyer and business economist Christoph Morgen as Managing Director of the Rosneft Group. Morgen is also the insolvency administrator of the MV Werften Group.
Economic pillar of the region around Schwedt
In a press conference at midday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) described the decision for state control of the mineral oil company Rosneft Germany as a very important step for energy security in Germany. “We now want to take advantage of the opportunities that arise from these decisions. The hanging game is over, ”said Scholz on Friday in Berlin. It was a “far-reaching energy policy decision to protect our country”. Russia is no longer a reliable partner, Scholz said. The federal government is doing everything to secure the supply of energy and especially oil.
The PCK refinery in Schwedt
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Image: Reuters
In addition, according to Scholz, one billion euros would be invested in the coming years as part of a future package – in the Brandenburg location of Schwedt, but also in the industrial location of Leuna in Saxony-Anhalt and the ports in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The funds would come from the federal government and these three states over several years. Schwedt alone should receive funds of 825 million euros. Nobody in the PCK refinery has to worry about their jobs.
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said: “With this day today you can say: The location is secured and the future for Schwedt is being worked out.” Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) emphasized: The refinery PCK is “heart and backbone” in the Brandenburg Uckermark.
The background to the decision is the oil embargo against Russia because of the Ukraine war, which will take effect on January 1, 2023. The Russian operator Rosneft has little interest in turning away from Russian oil, according to earlier information from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. According to the ministry, Rosneft Germany accounts for around twelve percent of Germany’s oil processing capacity, making it one of the largest oil processing companies in Germany.
Crude oil worth several hundred million euros
To date, the PCK refinery has been dependent on supplies of Russian crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline. PCK has around 1200 employees and is considered the economic pillar of the region around Schwedt. The refinery supplies large parts of north-eastern Germany with fuel.
According to the ministry, the German subsidiaries of the Russian state oil company Rosneft, RDG and RNRM, import crude oil worth several hundred million euros from Russia to Germany every month. The reason for the trust administration’s order was that the continuation of the business operations of the affected refineries was in danger due to the ownership status of the companies. Central service providers such as suppliers, insurance companies, banks, IT companies and banks, but also customers, were no longer willing to work with Rosneft – neither with refineries with Rosneft participation nor with the German Rosneft subsidiaries, RDG and RNRM, themselves.