Germany assumes control of Rosneft Deutschland refineries
The German government has placed German Rosneft subsidiaries—Rosneft Deutschland GmbH (RDG) and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH (RNRM)—under fiduciary management. The Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency), the country’s gas and electricity industry regulator, is assuming control of RDG’s respective shares PCK Schwedt, MiRo (Karlsruhe), and Bayernoil (Vohburg) refineries.
The government announced the news Friday, citing the legal basis of the order as section 17 of the Energy Security of Supply Act. Rosneft Deutschland holds a total of about 12% of German oil refining capacity, making it one of the largest oil-processing companies in Germany, the government said, noting the fiduciary management “counters the impending risk to the security of the energy supply, and lays a key foundation stone for the maintenance and future of the Schwedt operation.”
The subsidiaries import several hundred million euros worth of crude oil from Russia to Germany each month and maintenance of the refineries’ business operations was in jeopardy as central service providers are no longer willing to work with Rosneft—neither with refineries in which Rosneft held a stake, nor with Germany’s Rosneft subsidiaries, RDG and RNRM, the economy ministry said.
The order imposing the fiduciary management was issued by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. It took effect on Sept. 16, and is initially effective for 6 months, according to the release. The RDG and the RNRM must bear the costs of the fiduciary management themselves.
PCK Schwedt, Brandenburg, enables direct delivery of crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline, which connects Russia with Germany. The refinery's capacity is 11.6 million tonnes/year (tpy).
The MiRo refinery is the largest oil refinery in Germany with total processing capacity of 14.9 million tpy.
The Bayernoil refinery, the largest in the Bavarian region, supplies fuel to Bavaria and northern Austria. Total processing capacity is 10.3 million tpy.
