Qatar is reportedly eyeing a stake in the blocked Russian refinery in Germany

Gas giant Qatar is in talks to buy Russian Rosneft’s stake in German refinery PCK Schwedt, which has been under Berlin’s tutelage since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg and Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Schwedt is the fourth largest refinery in Germany, it is 54% owned by the Russian state oil giant and gets its oil from the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia. The Schwedt refinery provides 90% of the fuel needs of the German capital, Berlin.

The terms of the trusteeship expire on September 10, and while Berlin largely controls the assets, Rosneft is said to retain some control over the sale of its stake in the refinery, according to Reuters. With the mandate ending, the German government is likely keen to see a deal before that date for the 54.17 percent stake held by Rosneft, valued by Russian media at around $7 billion, Reuters reported. Shell owns the remaining shares, which it said in December would be sold to British group Prax.

According to Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, Qatar is the latest bidder for the refinery, with a delegation visiting Berlin in “recent weeks”. Bloomberg’s unnamed sources also said the German government would agree to a deal with Qatar and that the ball is now in Rosneft’s court.

Rosneft did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment at the time of publication.

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, owns a 19% stake in Rosneft.

In February, German government sources said Reuters that Berlin was considering a nationalization of Rosneft’s German assets, including a stake in the Schwedt refinery, however nationalization is not the preferred option but could be put back on the table if no deal is reached by the end of the mandate existing in the future. month.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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