US gives Germany six months to resolve Rosneft Deutschland status – Bloomberg
28 October 10:31
Washington has offered Berlin a six-month deadline to resolve the issue of who owns Rosneft’s assets in Germany, which will temporarily exempt the company from US sanctions, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, "Komersant Ukrainian".
The Trump administration has conveyed to the German side that it is considering a limited and non-renewable general license for Rosneft Deutschland, the publication said.
The German government confiscated Rosneft’s assets after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has since extended its trusteeship several times. Although the government agreed with Moscow to sell the German units, negotiations with Qatar as a buyer ultimately failed as the two sides could not agree on a price.
“Rosneft Germany owns stakes in three German refineries, which account for 12% of the country’s total refining capacity, including the PCK Raffinerie GmbH plant in Schwedt near Berlin. It also has a stake in the Transalpine oil pipeline.
The six-month deadline set by the US is significantly shorter than the two-year general license issued by the UK last week, and without it, Rosneft’s German unit risks being cut off from key customers from November 21, the deadline set in the latest US sanctions package.
On Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed optimism that both governments would be able to find a solution to free the oil company from Washington’s latest sanctions.
The German Ministry of Economy said that it is in contact with the relevant US authorities and seeks to clarify any legal issues as soon as possible, but declined to comment on the details of the negotiations. “Rosneft Germany declined to comment.
Berlin has so far avoided nationalizing the companies because of fears that such a move could lead to retaliatory measures by the Kremlin against German operations in Russia. In addition, there is a risk of interruption of supplies to the PCK refinery, as crude oil from Kazakhstan is currently supplied through the Druzhba pipeline, which passes through Russian territory.
