There is movement in the tough struggle to keep the activities of the Russian energy company Rosneft in Germany. On September 10th, the Federal Network Agency’s trust administration over Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing, which is also controlled by Rosneft, will expire. Together, the companies hold the majority of the PCK refinery in Schwedt, which supplies large parts of northeastern Germany, including Berlin, with fuel. Rosneft Germany holds a minority stake in the Oberrhein mineral oil refinery in Karlsruhe and the Bayernoil refinery company in Vohburg an der Donau. Before the last extension of the trust administration, which has existed since September 2022, by the Federal Network Agency for a further six months, the federal government and Rosneft agreed on this at the end of February that the group will be looking for a buyer for its activities in Germany by the end of August. At least one interested party for the assets now appears to have been found in the Qatar Investment Authority. As the news portal “Business Insider” first reported on Wednesday, Jörg Kukies, State Secretary in the Federal Chancellery, has met with the head of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund four times in the past three months spoken. A government spokesman confirmed this when asked by the FAZ. The topic of the discussions between Kukies and Mansur al-Mahmoud was “German and European economic policy as well as investments and investment opportunities in Germany”. Business Insider reported, with reference to “several sources familiar with the matter”, that this was also about the possible purchase of shares in Rosneft activities in Germany. A government spokesman did not comment on the exact content of the talks. The Qatar Investment Authority did not respond to a request for comment, and Rosneft also did not comment on possible interest from Qatar for its German assets.Speculation on KazMunayGasIn recent months, there has been speculation, among other things, that there is interest from Kazakhstan in Rosneft’s German activities should. The state-controlled oil company KazMunayGas has been supplying oil from Central Asia to the PCK refinery in Schwedt since last summer. The refinery was supplied with oil from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline for more than fifty years until the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022. After the European Union’s oil embargo against Russia as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the refinery’s supply threatened to be cut off. An agreement between Rosneft Germany and KazMunayGas has been helping to stabilize the supply chain since the summer of 2023. Qatar, which has concluded far-reaching agreements with the federal government on the supply of liquid gas to Germany, is given by insiders better chances than Kazakhstan with the Germans Rosneft’s assets come into play. The Qatar Investment Authority is one of Rosneft’s largest owners, with a stake of just over 18 percent. The sovereign wealth fund invested in the Russian oil company in 2016 as part of the privatization of Rosneft and maintained its commitment after the Russian attack on Ukraine. The British oil company BP also holds almost a fifth of the shares in Rosneft, but announced at the end of February 2022 that it wanted to divest itself of all activities in Russia. Rosneft’s largest shareholder is the state-controlled JSC Rosneftegaz. Extension of the trust administration The prerequisite for a possible sale of Rosneft’s German assets – unless it takes place in the few days until September 10th – is that the trust administration is still in place by the responsible Federal Ministry of Economics is extended once. It would be the fifth extension after the ministry first placed the activities under state control for a limited period of six months on September 14, 2022 based on the Energy Security Act. Even before the last extension in the spring, the ministry had also examined a possible expropriation of Rosneft Germany. According to information from the F.A.Z. A few weeks ago, the company again received “information on the initiation of expropriation” from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The ministry is keeping all options open: “The trust expires on September 10th. “Until then, the federal government will make a timely decision on further future steps,” said a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Economics upon request. The primary goal remains security of supply.More on the topicThe continued existence of Rosneft’s activities in Germany is likely to fuel the election campaign in Brandenburg in the coming weeks. Sahra Wagenknecht, the head of the party named after her, BSW, has announced that, in the event of a possible participation in government after the state elections on September 22nd in Brandenburg, she will campaign for the resumption of deliveries of Russian oil to the PCK refinery in Schwedt. Wagenknecht herself is not running in Brandenburg. The BSW is still at 17 percent in the most recent surveys. The AfD is at the top with 24 percent and keeps the SPD at a distance with 20 percent. Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD), who could rely on the BSW for a new government under his leadership, has signaled a willingness to talk about possible cooperation. The Brandenburg Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach (SPD) has rejected the demand for Russian oil for the refinery in Schwedt.
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