German Economy Minister Robert Habeck is to visit the PCK oil refinery in Brandenburg on Monday, where he is to hold talks with its management and staff as part of efforts to reduce Germany's dependence on Russian fossil fuels, his ministry announced on Friday.
The refinery is controlled by state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft and is a key factor in Germany's failure to rapidly reduce its dependence on Russian oil supplies in the medium term.
In view of the planned EU embargo on Russian oil, Habeck has raised concerns about potential supply issues, especially in eastern Germany. The Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, which transports Russian crude to Germany, ends in Schwedt where the oil is then processed at the refinery. The plant has more than 1,000 employees.
According to the Economics Ministry, Germany's dependence on Russian oil has dropped from about 35% last year to 12%. The figure is now entirely made up of crude oil deliveries that pass through the Schwedt refinery.
Habeck has announced his intention to tackle the issue several times, with some observers suggesting that he might use an amendment to the Energy Security Act currently making its way through the Bundestag, which would allow the federal government to place the refinery under state trusteeship or even to expropriate it.
