Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has been looking for a solution for several weeks to make the PCK refinery independent of Russian oil. Now there seems to be an option.
The energy company Alcmene is interested in taking over the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Brandenburg, which until now has been majority owned by the Russian state-owned company Rosneft and processes Russian oil.
Habeck looking for another operator
“We are ready to take over the PCK Schwedt refinery completely,” says Raul Riefler, Managing Director of the Alcmene Group, the “Handelsblatt”. Alcmene belongs to the Estonian Liwathon Group, an oil terminal operator. The company could “start immediately to find a long-term solution for the continued existence of the refinery”.
The refinery in Schwedt has so far been supplied with Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Because of the planned oil embargo against Russia, Economics Minister Robert Habeck is looking for alternative oil sources for the plant. According to Habeck, the Russian operator has little interest in the changeover.
Alcmene Group could act quickly
Riefler went on to say: “We are probably the only ones with the technical resources to move loading devices to Schwedt within a few months, which would enable the PCK to be used to capacity in times of war and sanctions, if necessary, via rail traffic alone.”
According to “Handelsblatt”, the biofuel entrepreneur Claus Sauter, CEO of Verbio, is also interested in PCK. “We could demonstrate at the Schwedt refinery site how the transformation from fossil to renewable energies can be designed. Schwedt is ideal for this, »Sauter told the newspaper. “There are two production lines there. One of these two strands could initially continue to be used to refine fossil fuels. The second strand could be used to produce first and second generation biofuels.”
