BERLIN (Dow Jones) – According to a report in the Handelsblatt, preparations are underway in the federal government for a possible expropriation of the German subsidiary of the Russian oil company Rosneft. In doing so, the federal government would meet the demands of the Polish government, which, according to the Handelsblatt, has demanded the expropriation of Rosneft Germany as a condition for oil deliveries from Poland to the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Brandenburg. Rosneft Germany is the majority shareholder of PCK. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Economics did not want to comment on the report in the Handelsblatt.
To date, PCK has mainly been supplied with Russian crude oil. From January, the German government will ban oil supplies from Russia, so the PCK refinery will need oil from Poland from January. However, the Polish government requires the expropriation of Rosneft Germany, reports the Handelsblatt with reference to Polish and German government circles.
According to the newspaper, the Polish side last made this point clear during a talk in Berlin on Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Economics said when asked by the Handelsblatt: “We are now evaluating the talks within the federal government and are currently expecting a decision by the end of the week.”
According to the Handelsblatt, it is not enough for Poland that the federal government put Rosneft Germany under trusteeship in September. The trust administration would expire in March. According to government representatives, it is conceivable that Poland will agree to deliveries via Gdańsk from January and the expropriation of Rosneft Germany will take place after March, the newspaper said.
The PCK refinery is the most important supplier of petroleum products such as petrol and diesel in the Berlin-Brandenburg area. Oil deliveries to PCK via Rostock are planned from January. These would not completely replace Russian oil supplies. Therefore, according to those involved in the negotiations, further deliveries via the Polish port of Gdansk are needed, reports the Handelsblatt.
According to Handelsblatt information, Poland has expressed an interest in investing in PCK itself via the Polish mineral oil company Orlen. Accordingly, there are talks that Orlen could take over Shell’s 37.5 percent stake. The British group has wanted to get rid of this for a long time, but Rosneft Germany has had a right of first refusal so far. According to insiders, this has now expired in the opinion of Shell, according to the newspaper. According to the Handelsblatt, Orlen representatives were also said to have been at the meeting on Thursday in Berlin. As the newspaper goes on to write, Polish negotiating circles consider expropriation to be necessary even if Orlen takes over the Shell stake.
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December 12, 2022 03:08 ET (08:08 GMT)
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