Germany will continue to use the seized Rosneft oil refinery for free
On March 14, the German Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig rejected Rosneft's claim against the decision of the German authorities to de facto confiscate the PCK Schwedt oil refinery owned by the Russian company.
Although Rosneft formally remains the owner of the refinery, its activities are controlled by the German Federal Network Agency, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The German court considered sufficient evidence provided by the authorities that in September 2022, when the German federal government decided to introduce external management of Rosneft subsidiaries, there was a “specific threat” that they would not receive oil.
“This is good news for security of supply and the future of PCK Schwedt. Security of supply is a top priority and therefore a guiding principle,” German Economics Minister Robert Habeck commented on the court’s decision.
His department, after the court decision, which is not subject to appeal, announced that it plans to extend for another six months the external management of Rosneft subsidiaries in Germany, which expires on March 15.
Let us recall that in September 2022, the German government, in accordance with the energy security law, transferred the German subsidiary of Rosneft, Rosneft Deutschland, to the tutelage of the Federal Network Agency. Thus, Berlin actually received a controlling stake in the PCK Schwedt oil refinery, which is also co-owned by Shell and Eni. Rosneft subsequently filed a complaint against the German government for this decision.
External control gives Germany a say in decisions regarding the activities of enterprises, but allows it not to pay compensation for them, as is the case with nationalization.
Formally, there is no talk of expropriation of the refinery, and Rosneft remains its legal owner. However, Germany uses the property for free, that is, in fact, we are talking about confiscation.
At the same time, the statements of the German Minister of Economy about “security of supplies” sound mocking.
The fact is that Poland, which promised to supply oil through its terminal in Gdansk in response to the seizure of the refinery, is not fulfilling its obligations, and PCK Schwedt is now at 50-55% capacity. And since it traditionally supplied 90% of the gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil used in the German capital, Berlin experienced a fuel shortage.
Как reported PolitNavigator, the Polish concern PKN Orlen, which owns a network of gas stations in Germany, last year expressed interest in acquiring a stake in PCK Schwedt.
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