On Friday, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck and Brandenburg’s state premier Dietmar Woidke informed people about the decision to place Rosneft and its subsidiaries under trust management. This was ordered to ensure continued operation of the refineries in question. The step had become necessary due to the fact that central key service providers such as suppliers, insurance companies, IT companies and banks, as well as buyers, were no longer willing to cooperate with Rosneft – either with refineries Rosneft holds shares in or with the German Rosneft subsidiaries Rosneft Deutschland GmbH (RDG) and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH (RNRM) themselves.

“Today’s decision will ensure that Germany will be supplied with mineral oil also in the medium and long term. This applies in particular for the PCK refinery in Schwedt,” Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz explained at the press conference held at the Chancellery, during which he spoke about the decision together with Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Habeck and state premier Woidke. The Federal Chancellor stressed that it had not been an easy decision but a necessary one.

Federal Network Agency acts as fiduciary

The Federal Network Agency is taking over control not only of Rosneft Deutschland, but also of its shares in the three refineries PCK in Schwedt, MiRo in Karlsruhe and Bayernoil in Vohburg. Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Habeck praised the Federal Network Agency for having more than proven its worth as a fiduciary, when Gazprom Germania was placed under trust management.

He added that the step to place Rosneft under trust management had been carefully prepared and had taken time: “But I think it is fair to say today that the location is protected and that work is underway to secure a future for Schwedt.”

Securing a future for the refinery in Schwedt

Through trust management, the energy supply will be secured for the refinery in Schwedt, as well as the town and the entire region. “This decision protects Schwedt. I want to say this to the employees of the refinery and their families in particular and also to the town and the region, of course,” the Federal Chancellor said, adding that the goal was to prevent dismissals.

“Trust management allows for all investments to be initiated that are needed to secure a long-term future,” the Federal Chancellor explained. A comprehensive package of measures would produce the requirements needed to preserve the jobs and allow for a successful transformation of the facilities in Schwedt and in Leuna, too, he said. These aspects were also highlighted by Brandenburg’s state premier Dietmar Woidke and the Federal Government Commissioner for the New Federal States Carsten Schneider.

More than 825 million euros to be provided by the Federal and Länder Governments

“Over the course of several years, this package is worth over one billion euros in total,” the Federal Chancellor stressed. The funds provided by the Federal Government and the state for the facility in Schwedt alone amounted to 825 million euros to be disbursed over a period of 15 years, he said. Around 77 percent thereof will be covered by the Federal Government. 

Furthermore, there will be a special programme as part of the joint task “Improving the regional economic structure” (GRW--Federal Funding System for Structural Development Regions) for the East German refinery locations and harbours worth 750 million euros until 2037. This programme was agreed upon by the Federal Government and the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt. It is designed to promote commercial investments by companies in the Uckermark region in particular.

GRW—Boosting the regional economy has been the central instrument for regional economic policy in Germany since 1969. The goal is to support structurally weak regions, to counterbalance geographic disadvantages and provide incentives for creating income and jobs.

Talks with Poland and Kazakhstan are underway

To ensure the oil supply for the PCK refinery in Schwedt, the pipeline from Rostock will be upgraded using 400 million euros provided by the Federal Government. In addition, the Federal Government is going to continue with top priority its talks with the Polish government concerning the conditions for oil deliveries to Schwedt via Gdansk. The Federal Government is also talking to the government of Kazakhstan. The goal here is that more oil will be delivered for PCK using the Druzhba pipeline before the end of the year.

Full supply of PCK with mineral oil will remain an urgent objective of the Federal Government. Trust management is necessary to achieve these goals, too.

Rosneft Deutschland accounts for a total of around twelve percent of Germany’s mineral oil processing capacity, making it one of Germany’s biggest mineral oil processing companies.