Energie – Berlin – Habeck: Schwedt could become the “refinery of the future” – Economy
Berlin (dpa) – Immediately before his visit to the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Brandenburg, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) declared that he saw a future for the company, which was threatened by the planned oil embargo against Russia. “There is a good chance that the Schwedt refinery will be preserved, that we can finance it with oil in other ways,” Habeck told Welt television on Sunday. These routes could lead via Rostock and Danzig. In cooperation with the port of Rostock, PCK could also develop the “path from oil to hydrogen” and thus a “refinery of the future”.
Habeck’s Parliamentary State Secretary Michael Kellner told the editorial network Germany (RND/Montag): “We want to get in touch with the beginning and make it clear that we will take all necessary steps to secure Schwedt in the short term.” In the medium term, they want to switch to green hydrogen , Biochemistry and Circular Economy. “With a lot of green energy and excellently trained specialists, this can be achieved at the Schwedt site in particular,” says Kellner.
Habeck and Kellner are expected in Schwedt on Monday for talks with the management and staff. The EU Commission is proposing to phase out Russian crude oil supplies for Germany and most other EU countries within six months. The “Druschba” (Friendship) pipeline from Russia ends in Schwedt. The oil IS processed at PCK, where around 1200 people work, according to the Brandenburg state government. The refinery is controlled by the Russian state-owned company Rosneft and is seen as a core problem in preventing Germany from becoming more independent of Russian oil supplies.
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