Scholz expects Brandenburg PCK oil refinery assets sale by year end

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expects the negotiations over shares of the Russian state company Rosneft in the Brandenburg PCK oil refinery to be concluded by the end of the year, he told the public at a local event in Prenzlau near Berlin on Saturday.

The refinery supplies north-eastern Germany with petrol, diesel, heating oil and other products and until 2022, processed only Russian oil.

However, after the Kremlin started the war againt Ukraine, Germany hastened to find other sources of energy and lessen its heavy dependence on Russian supplies.

Germany halted Russian oil imports and took control of the refinery, which is majority owned by subsidiaries of Russian state oil company Rosneft, leaving the future of the refinery uncertain.

Two German subsidiaries of Rosneft own around 54% of the refinery, a major industrial facility in the state of Brandenburg.

They are currently under trust management but are due to be sold, though the question of what will happen to the Russian shares has lingered for years.

The negotiations are ongoing which is why the government has repeatedly extended its trust management, Scholz said. "We hope and assume that everything will be clear by the end of the year so that the subsequent time can be used to wrap things up."

Meanwhile the facility continues to operate at a lower capacity than before the switch. It began processing from other sources in 2023, and partly sources crude oil from Kazakhstan.

Scholz is due to visit Central Asia in the coming days, with a stop planned in Kazakhstan, where he will hold talks on the economy, energy, climate and the environment.

Speaking to the gathering in Brandenburg, Scholz referred to his upcoming trip, promising to address the issue of the refinery with Central Asian oil. "I have many things to discuss but this issue also plays a role," he said.