The energy company Shell is withdrawing from the PCK Schwedt refinery, which has been placed under political control. As Shell Germany announced on Friday in Hamburg, the 37.5 percent stake is to be handed over to the Prax Group from Great Britain. “Completion of the transaction is expected in the first half of 2024, subject to partner rights and regulatory approvals.”
Shell spoke of an important milestone on the way to reducing the group’s refining portfolio to core locations. The potential buyer Prax trades in crude oil, petroleum products and biofuels. A purchase price was not mentioned. PCK Schwedt is the fourth largest refinery in Germany. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, it was placed under federal trust management in order to ensure security of supply, especially in the greater Berlin area. The Russian oil company Rosneft actually holds a majority stake in the refinery with 54 percent. The legal requirements have now been created for the federal government to sell the Rosneft shares. A package of a good eight percent is still with the Italian ENI. There was initially no comment from the Federal Ministry of Economics, Rosneft and Eni.