Rosneft opts to buy Shell’s interest in German joint-venture refinery

PJSC Rosneft subsidiary Rosneft Deutschland GMBH has exercised its preemption right to purchase Royal Dutch Shell PLC subsidiary Shell Deutschland Oil GMBH’s 37.5% minority interest in PCK Raffinerie GMBH's 220,000-b/d refinery in Schwedt, Germany, located along Druzhba pipeline in Schwedt, Germany, about 120 km northeast of Berlin.

Pending necessary government and regulatory approvals, the transaction will increase Rosneft’s shareholding in the German refinery to 91.67% from its current 54.17% interest, Rosneft said in a Nov. 17 release.

Alongside strengthening the refinery’s technology leadership team, Rosneft said it also plans to implement low-carbon projects after finalizing the transaction.

Current projects under development for PCK Rafinerie’s site involve production of cleaner fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel and green hydrogen, which Rosneft confirmed it intends to continue.

Exercise of its preemption right for acquisition of additional interest in PCK Raffinerie effectively cancels Shell’s earlier plan to sell its shares of the Schwedt refinery to Vienna-based Alcmene GMBH, a subsidiary of privately owned Liwathon EOS of Estonia, in a deal that required approval by joint venture partners Rosneft and Eni SPA subsidiary Eni Deutschland GMBH (8.33%) (OGJ Online, July 8, 2021).

Shell previously said divestment of its interest in PCK Raffinerie comes as part of the global operator’s broader ongoing strategy to reduce its global refinery footprint to core sites integrated with the company's trading hubs, chemicals plants, and marketing businesses (OGJ Online, May 27, 2021; May 5, 2021).

Robin Mooldijk, Shell’s executive vice-president of manufacturing, said sale of the PCK Raffinerie interest will support further development of Shell’s Rheinland energy and chemicals park, which includes Shell Deutschland’s 140,000-b/d refinery at Wesseling, Germany, that together with the former Godorf refinery near Cologne-Godorf, form the 325,000-b/d integrated Rheinland refinery, Germany’s largest.