U.S. sanctions on Russian oil producer Rosneft have rekindled discussions in Germany about nationalising the company’s business there, including a refinery that Berlin depends on for most of its fuel, two sources familiar with the talks told Reuters.
The situation highlights the complex web linking Germany with Russia, which supplied Europe’s industrial powerhouse with energy in the decades leading up to the war in Ukraine.
The United States hit Russia’s major oil companies with sanctions on 22 October and accused the Russians of a lack of commitment toward ending the war in Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury said on 29 October it had issued a licence exempting Rosneft’s German arm from the U.S. sanctions until April 2026.
Securing a permanent exemption remains Berlin’s preferred option, but German officials are also examining potentially seizing the operations and selling them to a foreign investor, the two people said.
A spokesperson for the economy ministry said it had received a letter from the United States that would serve as a “temporary solution”.
Rosneft’s German arm owns a controlling stake in the Schwedt oil refinery which supplies most of Berlin’s fuel, including to its airport, petrol to pumps across eastern Germany and key ingredients to the local chemicals industry.
It also has stakes in the MiRo and Bayernoil refineries.
These assets were placed in a trusteeship giving the German government control in 2022 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which rocked Germany’s decades-long energy ties with Russia.
The trusteeship arrangement is renewed every six months but could be overturned in court because, with each renewal, the legal basis for what was supposed to be a temporary, emergency measure is examined.
So far, Berlin has shied away from seizing Rosneft’s local assets due to concerns about having to pay compensation to Moscow.