Poland launches delivery of oil to Germany’s Schwedt refinery
The first delivery of oil from the Gdańsk terminal in northern Poland has arrived in Germany’s Schwedt refinery, as Poland presses for the „de-Russification” of the strategic facility near Berlin in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, according to news outlets.
The first delivery of oil from the Gdańsk terminal in northern Poland has arrived in Germany’s Schwedt refinery near Berlin, as Poland presses for the „de-Russification” of the strategic facility, news outlets have reported. PAP/DPA/Christophe Gateau
The news of the maiden delivery from Poland was announced by Germany’s Ministry of Economy and Climate, Poland’s biznesalert.pl website reported, citing Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper.
Michael Kellner, secretary of state at the German Ministry of Economy and Climate, told Handelsblatt: “It’s an important step in terms of the security of supplies to Schwedt. Deliveries through Gdańsk are now possible, but the volume should be increased further.”
Given the limited capacity of the pipeline pumping oil from Germany’s northeastern Baltic Sea port of Rostock, the government in Berlin was forced to search for alternative supply routes, and one such route was secured in Poland, biznesalert.pl reported.
“We keep in close contact with the Polish government,” Kellner said.
Poland wants Schwedt refinery to be ‘de-Russified’
Meanwhile, Poland expects that, as deliveries through Gdańsk are stepped up, Germany will move to “de-Russify” the Schwedt refinery, which is majority-owned by Russian oil giant Rosneft’s subsidiary Rosneft Deutschland, according to biznesalert.pl.
The German Ministry of Economy and Climate announced in September it had temporarily taken over Rosneft’s German subsidiaries, but this is not enough to strip Russia of influence over the Schwedt refinery and its strategic infrastructure, the Polish website said.
Germany is still considering the expulsion of Rosneft from the Schwedt refinery, according to Handelsblatt.
Meanwhile, December 5 will see the introduction of a European Union-wide embargo on oil that arrives from Russia by sea amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
So far, EU member states have not agreed on a full ban, but Poland and Germany have vowed to stop purchases of Russian oil delivered through the Druzhba pipeline from 2023, biznesalert.pl reported.
There has also been media speculation that Polish state-owned energy giant PKN Orlen could acquire shares in Germany’s Schwedt refinery, but the Polish company has refused to confirm these reports, biznesalert.pl said.
Wednesday is day 259 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: biznesalert.pl, Reuters, CNN, offshore-technology.com
