The Russian state oil company Rosneft has accused the federal government of “forced expropriation” of its German subsidiaries. In a statement on Friday evening in Moscow, the company spoke of “illegal” access to its assets and announced that it would take legal action against Berlin’s action to protect its assets.
The federal government had decided to place the German subsidiaries of the Russian state-owned company Rosneft under state control. This means that the Federal Network Agency is also in charge of the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Brandenburg.
“Rosneft sees it as one violation of all fundamental principles of market economy, of the civilized foundations of a modern society based on the principle of the inviolability of private property”, the statement said. The group emphasized that it had fulfilled its obligations at all times. The company will do everything to protect the interests of its shareholders, it said.
At the same time, Rosneft made it clear that the federal government’s decision meant that it was no longer possible to “guarantee the industrial and ecological safety of the plant”. The Group is also ready to negotiate a possible new contract – on condition that there is a guarantee for payment for oil supplies, for investments and for the rights of the company’s employees.
The federal government announced on Friday that it would take over the majority ownership of the PCK refinery – Rosneft Germany and RN Refining & Marketing, both subsidiaries of the Russian state-owned company Rosneft – to be brought under state control. The background is the EU’s oil embargo against Russia because of the war against Ukraine, which is to take effect from January 2023. At the EU level, Germany has committed itself to refraining from Russian pipeline oil. PCK is supplied with Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, Rosneft had little interest in turning away from Russian oil.
