Russia’s oil and gas giant Rosneft, which owns downstream assets in Germany including stakes in a number of oil refineries, plans to invest around $690 million in the German downstream market, Russian government documents showed on Thursday, according to Reuters.
The company has been looking for ways to expand its German portfolio. In July, Rosneft’s CEO, Igor Sechin, said he doesn’t rule out that his company may open a network of gas stations in Germany.
When asked by Russia’s Rossiya-1 television channel whether his company planned to sell its oil products to Germany without go-betweens, he said, “As a matter of fact, we are doing that [selling our products to Germany] via networks of filling stations operated by our partners, whom we have a corresponding agreement with. They include BP, Total. But, probably, we will develop our own network.”
According to earlier reports, Rosneft Deutschland (Rosneft’s subsidiary) singed a contract with German companies for the sales of its petrochemical products starting from 2019.
Rosneft is Germany’s third biggest oil refining market player, with aggregate capacity of 12.5 million tonnes a year, or 12% of Germany’s oil refining output.
The Russian company, headquartered in Moscow, is specializing on exploration, extraction, production, refinement, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products. Rosneft is controlled by the Russian government through the Rosneftegaz holding company.
