Ministry: High utilization of oil refinery guaranteed

Created: 2022-12-15Updated: 2022-12-15, 5:58 p.m

The facilities of the oil refinery on the industrial site of PCK-Raffinerie GmbH are illuminated.

© Patrick Pleul/dpa/archive image

Concerns about an uncertain future for the PCK oil refinery were high.

Where can enough substitute for Russian crude oil come from after January?

In the search for new sources, the Federal Ministry of Economics is now announcing that the situation is easing.

According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, decisive progress has been made in the lengthy search for a substitute for Russian crude oil for the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Brandenburg.

State Secretary Michael Kellner said on Thursday in the Bundestag that the Polish side had promised to supply sufficient quantities of oil from January to enable the PCK to operate at a comfortable capacity utilization of around 70 percent.

At the same time, the refinery's shareholders had negotiated their own contracts with Kazakhstan, which would allow additional volumes from January 2023.

So far, the refinery in Schwedt has been supplied with Russian crude oil, but from the beginning of 2023 it should no longer flow due to the oil embargo against Russia.

Up to 55 percent of the demand is to be brought to Rostock by tanker and from there to Schwedt via an existing pipeline.

Management is currently unable to do more.

However, as this would not allow the refinery to be used to full capacity, additional alternatives were sought.

Petrol stations in eastern Germany are supplied from Schwedt.

So far, there has been a great deal of concern that the refinery's capacity will be idle and that this could also affect the supply of fuel and prices.

"The security of supply can be guaranteed by deliveries via Rostock, Poland and Kazakhstan," said the Green politician Kellner on Thursday.

He was in Warsaw for talks last week.

In addition, the ships should arrive in Rostock from January to fully utilize the pipeline from Rostock to the refinery in Schwedt.

"The goal is to further increase the occupancy rate from over 70 percent in January over the course of the year, once the new sources of supply have settled in over the coming year," said Kellner.

Saying goodbye to Russian oil is not only necessary in view of the Ukraine war, but also to ensure security of supply in the long term.

Brandenburg Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach (SPD) said that the refinery was currently running at 85 percent capacity.

He was convinced that the negotiations with Kazakhstan to close the remaining gap would succeed.

In December, Schwedt will receive five million euros for the structural change.

"It is important in the region that people keep their courage," said Steinbach.

Schwedt has a future.

"And the state government is still with the Swedes." The spokesman for Rosneft Germany, Burkhard Woelki, said only that the company was in exchange with Kazakhstan about quantities and prices and about contractual agreements.

dpa