Management at a Russian-owned oil refinery in Germany have privately warned Berlin that U.S. sanctions are hurting its business and threatening fuel supply for the country's capital and the region, according to
Management at a Russian-owned oil refinery in Germany have privately warned Berlin that U.S. sanctions are hurting its business and threatening fuel supply for the country's capital and the region, according to correspondence seen by Reuters.
In a January letter, management of the PCK Schwedt refinery, controlled by Rosneft, made an "urgent appeal" to economy and energy minister Katherina Reiche to resolve a standoff with the United States over the refinery's future.
The letter outlines escalating problems at the refinery, which fuels nine out of 10 cars in Berlin, its airport, supplies petrol across the state of Brandenburg and eastern Germany and key ingredients to the chemicals industry.
Berlin's lobbying won the refinery an exception from sanctions imposed late last year on Rosneft as part of Washington's effort to squeeze Russia's energy sector, but it expires on April 29.
The business, however, depends on long-term supply contracts, banks for payments and insurers to cover oil cargoes, all of which is being hit by fear about being swept up by sanctions, said one person with direct knowledge of the matter. That pressure, he said, could accelerate the refinery's sale and one oil group and a large energy investor had explored buying
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