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German govt takes control of three Rosneft refineries in country
MOSCOW. Sept 16 (Interfax) – The German government has taken Rosneft Deutschland GmbH (RDG) and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH (RNRM) under trust administration as per the country’s energy security law, the country’s Ministry of Economics and Environmental Protection said in a statement.
Consequently, the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has taken control of a subsidiary of Rosneft and its stakes in three oil refineries, PCK Raffinerie (Schwedt), MiRo (Karlsruhe) and Bayernoil (Vogburg).
Rosneft Deutschland accounts for around 12% of Germany’s oil refining capacity, and it is one of the largest players on the fuel market.
"Trust administration aims to prevent a looming threat to energy security, and lays the necessary foundation for preserving the Schwedt refinery," the agency explains.
The decision comes with a package of measures to stimulate transforming the region, and to provide the refinery, which has depended on Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, with crude via alternative routes, according to the statement.
The ministry indicates that the main providers of critical services, including insurance companies, IT firms and banks, as well as customers, were no longer willing to collaborate with Rosneft and its German enterprises and organizations; therefore, the assets have been transferred to the federal government’s trust administration.
Rosneft has not commented on the German agency’s statement.
Rosneft is the third largest player on Germany’s oil refining market, and it is a shareholder in three refineries (PCK – 54.17%, MiRO – 24%, Bayernoil – 28.57%) with total capacity of 12.8 million tonnes per year in ownership shares. Rosneft Deutschland GmbH is the operator that manages oil supplies to the refineries, whose shares Rosneft owns, as well as the sale of petroleum products.
Germany’s antitrust authority in February permitted Rosneft to increase its ownership in PCK Raffinerie in Schwedt by purchasing a stake in Shell (SPB:RDS.A), which would have increased the Russian company’s control from 54.17% to 91.67%. However, the deal was not completed.
The refinery in Schwedt has capacity of 11.6 million tonnes of petroleum products per year. Italy’s Eni (8.33%) is the refinery’s other shareholder, and has recently announced its intention to sell its stake.
