QNA
Berlin
Germany has taken temporary control of Russian-owned oil refineries as the Ukraine war hits its energy industry.
The three Rosneft refineries include a key facility in the northeast of the country which supplies around 90 percent of Berlin’s fuel.
The German economy ministry was quoted by the BBC as saying that the move was necessary to counteract an impending threat to energysecurity.
In a similar move in April, Germany took control of subsidiaries of Russian gas giant Gazprom.
On Friday, the German government handed control of the PCK Schwedt refinery in Brandenburg to the national energy regulator, along with two other refineries in the south of the country.
The economy ministry said the move was necessary because critical service providers and customers were no longer willing to work with Rosneft, putting the continued operation of the refineries under threat.
The Schwedt refinery is Germany’s fourth-largest and is the main supplier of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel for Berlin and the surrounding area. Rosneft has a 54 percent stake in the facility.
The refinery has received all its crude from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline since it was built in the 1960s. Parts of western Poland are also supplied by Schwedt.
