Report: Shell restarts sale of its stake in German oil refinery

MOSCOW, Mar 21 (PRIME) -- British-Dutch oil giant Shell has restarted the sale of its 37.5% stake in the Schwedt oil refinery in Germany after the country’s government took control over the plant from Russian oil major Rosneft last year, Reuters reported on Tuesday quoting industry sources.

The German economy ministry put the local unit of Rosneft under a trusteeship as a part of the European sanctions on Russia in September 2022, which made the sale’s relaunch possible, two sources told the newswire.

“Shell this week opened a data room for potential buyers with information on the refinery's operations, costs and revenues, the two sources said,” Reuters reported.

Shell planned to sell the stake in 2021 first to Austria’s Alcmene, then to Rosneft, but the German regulators did not approve the deal. In September 2022, Poland’s PKN Orlen said that it was interested in acquiring a controlling stake in the refinery and to deliver oil to it, but Rosneft should no longer be a shareholder in order for that to happen.

Rosneft owns 54.17% in the refinery, while Italy’s Eni has an 8.33% stake.

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