May 16, 2023 [Reuters]- Germany’s Schwedt oil refinery will run at 70% of capacity from June, German state secretary Michael Kellner said on Friday as he greeted a tanker arriving at the Gdansk terminal in Poland with non-Russian oil en route to the refinery.

Schwedt was operating at 50-60% capacity earlier this year after Germany stopped oil supplies from Russia because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Germany has been working with Poland to try to secure supply for Schwedt via the oil terminal in Gdansk and the Polish section of the Druzhba pipeline.

“Last week I talked to the refinery chief executive and he clarified that from June they will be able to produce at 70% or more,” Kellner told reporters as the tanker carrying Saudi Arabian oil arrived at Gdansk’s Naftoport terminal.

Berlin took control of the Schwedt refinery last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, placing Rosneft Deutschland under trusteeship of the German industry regulator.

While Russian energy group Rosneft (ROSN.MM) still owns 54.17% of the refinery, Germany has prepared legislation that allows a quick sale of the Russian energy group’s stake without the need for nationalisation.

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