- Shell fails to sell its stake in Russian refinery PCK
- The controlling 54% stake in PCK is held by the Russian state oil company Rosneft, which controls it through two German subsidiaries
Shell fails to sell its stake in Russian refinery PCK
An agreement for Shell to sell its stake in the Russian-owned PCK refinery in eastern Germany has been canceled, the company said on Friday.
Shell had planned to sell its 37.5 percent stake in PCK to the British group Prax and to exit the refinery in the northeastern German town of Schwedt in the Brandenburg region.
However, after a sale and purchase agreement was signed in December last year, both parties decided not to proceed with the transaction, Hamburg-based Shell Deutschland GmbH said. No reasons were given for this decision.
"Our intention to sell our stake in PCK remains unchanged," said a spokeswoman.
In addition, the ownership structure of the refinery needs to be clarified in order to ensure the refinery's safety in the long term.
The controlling 54% stake in PCK is held by the Russian state oil company Rosneft, which controls it through two German subsidiaries
In the wake of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the German government placed the two German subsidiaries of Rosneft under the auspices of the Federal Network Agency to ensure the safe operation of the refinery.
As the German government has started to consider expropriation, Rosneft is now also looking for a buyer for its shares.
The Russian company has appealed against the Shell-Prax deal, but its appeal was dismissed by the Düsseldorf Regional Court of First Instance in October.
The Prax Group is a multi-country oil company trading in crude oil, petroleum products and biofuels.
Based on ELTA reports
