German Minister of Economy and Climate Change Robert Habek demonstrated at a press conference on measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and Germany’s dependence on Russian energy imports amid the Russian war against Ukraine in Berlin, April 6, 2022. REUTERS / Christian Mang / Photo file
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BERLIN, April 27 (Reuters) – Germany is preparing to change control at the PCK refinery in Sweden, run by Russia’s state-owned Rosneft (ROSN.MM), which is responsible for all remaining Russian oil imports from Germany, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said. on Wednesday.
Germany has set plans to become independent of Russian oil, which will make the European Union’s oil embargo manageable for Europe’s largest economy.
It reduced the share of oil it supplies from Russia to 12% from 35%, leaving PCK the only remaining consumer of Russian oil in the country.
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Rosneft “does not care not to refine Russian oil. “If I call them and ask ‘What are you doing to become independent of Russian oil,’ they won’t even pick up the phone,” Habek said in a video posted on Twitter by the economy ministry.
PCK supplies parts of East Germany, including the German capital Berlin, as well as western Poland.
In a video released Wednesday, Habek said he was close to an agreement with Poland after talks there on Tuesday. “We have made good progress. Now we are talking about technical details,” he said.
According to Habek’s plans, part of the supplies for PCK will be sent through the German port in the Baltic Sea, Rostock, and Habek said that solidarity from Poland is needed to deliver the rest.
“Poles are right: ‘We don’t want to import Polish oil into Germany to keep a Swede alive,'” Habek said in the video.
“But we are talking about a case where Germany supports Poland and Poland supports Germany if Rosneft is no longer a refinery operator,” he said, without elaborating.
One possibility could be expropriation.
The German cabinet this week approved a legislative amendment that would make it easier for Germany to take control of assets and companies that are crucial to its energy supply, a move that came in response to a growing risk of disruption. Read more
Asked at a news conference Wednesday whether Germany could consider expropriating the Swedish refinery, Habek said: “We are in a situation where the German government needs to adapt and prepare for all scenarios.” Read more
Habek said Germany could tackle the EU’s oil embargo once a solution to the PCK is found.
“If we had a transitional period to organize ships that can deliver oil to Rostock, which use the port there to supply Sweden, we would manage an oil embargo,” he said.
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Report by Maria Sheikhan; edited by Jason Neely and Sandra Mahler
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