Polish company Unimot negotiates acquisition of Shell's shares in German PCK Schwedt refinery

The Polish energy group Unimot has expressed interest in acquiring shares of the British corporation Shell in the German PCK Schwedt refinery. Information about the ongoing talks was conveyed to the Ueckermarck district council by the district administrator of the region, Karina Doerk. According to a report cited by the newspaper "Berliner Zeitung," the Polish investor wants to acquire a package constituting 37.5% of shares in the enterprise. The PCK Schwedt refinery is located in Brandenburg and plays a key role in fuel supply, especially for the Berlin region and eastern Germany. The majority shareholder of the facility remains the Russian oil company Rosneft, which controls 54.17% of the shares. The remaining shares are held by the Italian company Eni. German authorities have been exercising fiduciary supervision over Rosneft's shares since 2022, a direct consequence of sanctions imposed on Russia. A potential transaction with a Polish investor would require approval from the German federal government, which treats the refinery as an object of strategic importance for the country's energy security. The PCK refinery in Schwedt was launched in 1960 in the former German Democratic Republic. After German reunification, it was privatized, and in 2011, Rosneft acquired a majority stake in it. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the refinery primarily processed Russian oil delivered via the Druzhba pipeline. District administrator Karina Doerk confirmed in her report that talks are ongoing with potential investors from Poland. However, she did not specify the details of the negotiations or provide a timeline for a potential transaction. Representatives of Unimot have not publicly commented on media reports. Previously, German media speculated about the possible involvement of other investors, including the Czech company Unipetrol. The decision by British Shell to withdraw from Rosneft and sell its shares in the Schwedt refinery was made in 2022, after the start of the full-scale war. Since then, Shell has been seeking a buyer for its package. prawda: Information about the interest of the Polish group Unimot in shares in the refinery has been confirmed by three independent media sources and by the official report of the Ueckermarck district administrator. (Berliner Zeitung, TVP Info, Deutsche Welle)A potential acquisition by a Polish entity would be met with attention both in Berlin and Warsaw. For Poland, it could mean increased influence in the German fuel sector, which would align with a broader strategy of diversifying energy sources and increasing supply security. For Germany, the involvement of an entity from a country that is a member of the European Union could be seen as more favorable than maintaining the dominant position of a sanctioned entity.