Shell ‘unaffected’ by Germany placing PCK Schwedt refinery under trusteeship

LONDON (Reuters) -Shell said on Friday it was “unaffected” by the German government’s decision to place the PCK Schwedt oil refinery under a trusteeship, effectively taking control away from Russian majority owner Rosneft.

It is unclear who will step in to replace Rosneft as operator of the 233,000 barrel per day refinery, which Shell has sought to sell out of.

“Shell remains unaffected by this order as a 37.5% shareholder in PCK Schwedt and will continue to comply with its contractual obligations in accordance with its own shares,” Shell said in an emailed statement.

“We do not want to speculate about measures in the context of the continued operation of the refinery in Schwedt (or other locations) that may or may not be taken by the government.”

Shell in May said PCK Schwedt held no strategic value for its business.

Last year it tried to sell its stake to Vienna-based Alcmene but the move was pre-empted by Rosneft, which sought to increase its 54% stake. That move was put on hold by the German government in March.

(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; editing by Jason Neely)