The Naftoport in Gdańsk is capable of increasing its capacity to carry additional oil via the „Friendship” oil pipeline to Schwedt. For many months, Germany did not want to talk about such a possibility, because dependence on Poland is frowned upon. However, the situation in Ukraine forced Germans to act– writes Aleksandra Fedorska, editor at BiznesAlert.pl.
On 16 September, the German government took temporary control over the Rosneft-owned companies that had shares in the PCK Schwedt refinery. Even though it hasn’t even been two weeks since the decision of Germany’s federal government, the PCK Schwedt refinery is already being split between possible heirs after the Russian Rosneft, which owns 54% of the plant. From a German perspective, discussions on this subject are somewhat premature. It is very important to understand that the shares have not been taken away from Rosneft, and the Russian giant has not been expropriated, but is still the rightful owner of 54 percent of the shares. On the other hand, the company can no longer make decisions regarding the refinery for a period of 6 months, and has no access to company accounts. The PCK in Schwedt is now managed by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetztagentur).
BiznesAlert.pl discussed the future of the refinery with Henrik Fischer, State Secretary at the Brandenburg Ministry of Economy. Fischer stressed that the land had no intention of selling the shares that are now in the control of the Bundesnetzagentur. All decisions about changes to this state of affairs will be made at the federal level. Fischer also believes that Brandenburg was interested in the energy transformation of the refinery and not in selling it.
This vision of development is unfortunately completely overlooked by Polish commentators, who already see Orlen among the owners of the PCK refinery. The reason is simple: few experts on the Polish side follow local or land discussions in Germany on this topic and are therefore not familiar with the nuances of the German energy transition.
The opportunity for Poland’s Orlen lies in the logical consequence of the current shortage of oil at the Schwedt refinery. To make full use of its capacity, the refinery needs 12 million tons of oil per year. Until now, the oil was imported from Russia through the oil pipeline „Friendship”. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rosneft announced that there were also technical opportunities to use oil from Kazakhstan. However, Germans rejected variant, due to the fact that oil from Kazakhstan will have to flow through the territory of Russia, and then Russia will be able to stop such deliveries whenever it likes. Meanwhile, at the end of this year oil supply from Russia will end completely, because Germany agreed to impose an embargo on it as of 1 January 2023.
The PCK refinery in Schwedt, which is one of the largest in Germany, supplies petrol and diesel to a large part of East Germany, including Berlin and its airports. Without supplies from this refinery, the German capital could grind to a halt. Therefore, there is a frantic search for oil suppliers for this plant. At this point the only confirmed source of new supply will be a connection with the port in Rostock. Oil will be bought on spot markets and delivered by tankers to Rostock, and from there via an oil pipeline to Schwedt. The first test deliveries-of oil from the United States-took place in the summer. However, the capacity of the port and the Rostock-Schwedt oil pipeline is currently limited to a maximum of 5-6 million tons of oil. Where will the rest come from? For example, from Poland. And here the Polish-German relations become boiling hot.
The Naftoport in Gdańsk would have the processing power to pick up oil and then carry it through the oil pipeline “Friendship” to Schwedt. Germany for many months did not want to talk about this possibility, because dependence on Poland is frowned upon there. However, the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine forced the German side to finally act. On the other hand, Poland made it clear that it can provide the oil, but not for Rosneft to make a quick buck. Therefore, the federal government placed the PCK refinery into receivership. However, this form does not seem to be enough for the Polish side, which fears that the profits could sooner or later go to Russia. This is quite likely, despite the rhetorical assurances of the German side that this would not happen. Once the receivership is over, Rosneft will again have access to its corporate accounts, which in the meantime would accumulate a large profit. Even if Germany decided to invest all profits in the plant, so that the money does not go to Russia, in the final settlement Rosneft would still come out on top, because these investments will generate profits in the future. The Polish side is currently interested in acquiring a part of the shares that the federal government has taken over and placed into receivership, but Germany does not want to sell them.
Taking into account the German vision of the future development of the refinery, which is to make the plant green, other partners fit better than Poland’s Orlen. One such candidate, Verbio, a local producer of bio fuels, does not have the oil needed for the refinery. However, the owner of Verbio, Claus Sauter, has another idea.
„There are two production lines. One of these two lines could initially be used for the refinement of fossil fuels. The second line could be used for the production of first and second generation biofuels,” said Sauter in an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt.
Sauter wants to invest EUR 50 million in Schwedt and does not insist on buying shares that legally belong to Rosneft. Verbio could also buy shares from other owners, such as Shell. Shares of this company have long been up for sale after their purchase by Rosneft was stopped by the German government.
BiznesAlert.pl asked Henrik Fischer whether oil supplies for the PCK would flow through Gdańsk. The Secretary of State replied that only a small part of these supplies would flow through Gdańsk. This is a strange statement, because at the moment the refinery is missing 6-7 million tons of oil. But the federal government wants to invest in the port of Rostock and upgrade the pipeline from Rostock to Schwedt to reach a capacity of 9 million tons. Does this mean that 3 million tons of oil will be delivered through Gdańsk to Schwedt? The answer is yes, but probably in the future.
Professor Horst Linde, who for many years headed the Institute of Land and Sea Transport TU Berlin, presented in an interview with BiznesAlert.pl yet another alternative, which, in his opinion, would be even cheaper and more practical than the variant with imports via Rostock. Linde believes that it would be possible to dock a large tanker in Szczecin, which would act as a warehouse to which oil will be carried by tankers from the world over. Then ships with tankers will pick up the oil and transport it along the Oder to the refinery in Schwedt.