Schwedt refinery hits 80% capacity despite ownership doubts
By Andreas Rinke
SCHWEDT, Germany, July 8 (Reuters) -Germany's Schwedt oil refinery is running at over 80% capacity despite uncertainty over its future ownership but market conditions mean there is no incentive to go any higher, German state secretary Michael Kellner said.
Russian energy group Rosneft ROSN.MM has a majority stake in PCK Schwedt, which has traditionally supplied 90% of the fuel used in Germany's capital, Berlin.
Schwedt was operating at 50-60% capacity last year after Germany stopped oil supplies from Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and Berlin's decision to place the refinery, along with other German assets owned by Rosneft, under government trusteeship.
Kellner said he welcomed Kazakhstan's offer to deliver beyond the currently committed 100,000 tons, but that there was a risk of Moscow interrupting supplies at any time through the Druzhba pipeline that transits Russia.
"I would also welcome it if a doubling were to happen," Kellner said on Monday on the sidelines of a visit to the refinery, which co-owned by Shell SHEL.L and Eni ENI.MI.
Kazakhstan's state pipeline company KazTransOil KZTO.KZ last week said it would reduce oil exports to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline through Russia in July by 19% from June on a daily basis to 100,000 metric tons, from 120,000 tons in June.
Since last year, Germany has been working with Poland to try to secure supply for Schwedt via the oil terminal in Gdansk and the Polish section of the Druzhba pipeline.
Some 70% of the refinery's oil is delivered via a pipeline from Rostock while 15% comes through the Polish port of Gdańsk and another 15% through the Druzhba pipeline.
Carsten Schneider, the Federal Government's Commissioner for Eastern Germany, said some 400 million euros state aid to upgrade the Rostock-Schwedt pipeline were earmarked in the federal budget, awaiting European Commission approval.
In the light of the government's trusteeship in September and a pending sale of Rosneft 54.17% stake in the refinery, Kellner declined to comment on the sale progress or Berlin's preferred buyer but said that the refinery would not revert to Russian control.
"What matters to me is establishing an ownership structure that ensures the refinery's long-term stability," he added.
Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Riham Alkousaa; editing by Philippa Fletcher
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