Schwedt (Uckermark)
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Economic experts and entrepreneurs meet to discuss the future of the PCK refinery
Representatives from business discuss the transformation of the PCK refinery into sustainable fuel production. There are concrete ideas. In the PCK environment, however, there are also allegations of favoritism towards Rosneft.
- PCK boss: Transformation requires interest from customers
- DHL and South African companies see a future in alternative aviation fuels
- Research by NDR, WDR and SZ raises doubts about the origin of current crude oil deliveries
The PCK refinery in Schwedt (Uckermark) is facing major challenges. It is expected to produce biofuels and hydrogen in the coming years. Representatives of the PCK, economic experts and entrepreneurs came together for a specialist conference on Thursday.
Customer interest is necessary for the transformation
Under the title “We are moving Berlin and Brandenburg – tomorrow too!” PCK managing director Ralf Schairer welcomed around 250 guests to the Uckermärkische Bühnen. These included economists and representatives of companies that were considering investing in Schwedt. Schairer is particularly interested in one group in advance: “I’m curious about the customer side, what the expectations are there. What are you willing to pay or how do you do that on the buyer side? I’m interested in that too.” One crucial question: a transformation can only work if there are customers who buy the new, sustainable fuels.
Aviation companies are showing interest
A candidate would be DHL parcel shipping. It operates, among other things, 300 aircraft, says employee Andreas Mündel. “We have one of our very large aviation hubs in Leipzig. That means we have a very large fuel requirement there. And Schwedt is of course not in a logistically disadvantageous location to supply Leipzig now. So if there are larger quantities of sustainable fuel here Produced at reasonable prices, it would be a very interesting option.”
The plan could work. The South African company “SVP Sasol” has specialized in sustainable aircraft fuel and is considering setting up a production facility on the PCK site in Schwedt, confirms employee Helge Sachs. “In the state of Brandenburg we have a project in Rüdersdorf with the companies Cemex and Enertrag – Enertrag as a company for renewable electricity, and biogenic CO2 from the cement manufacturer. This also makes it possible to produce sustainable aviation fuels in Schwedt. This is one of the options that we will look at in the coming period.” Sasol is therefore considering producing in Schwedt using hydrogen and CO2, which is produced during cement production in Rüdersdorf. However, it will probably take some time before it is implemented. The work will be completed in five years at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the PCK is thinking about much more pressing matters, for example who will take over the shares of the current owners Shell and the Russian state-owned company Rosneft. Only when this has been clarified can other companies seriously think about investing in Schwedt.
Doubts about the origin of the PCK crude oil
Doubts about the origin of the oil imported by Rosneft Germany from Kazakhstan via a pipeline to Germany are currently causing a stir in the area around the Schwedt refinery. After a Research published on Wednesday by NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung Customs in Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder) are said to have been instructed at the beginning of September to wave through oil imports as quickly as possible. This emerges from a message from the General Customs Directorate to the downstream authorities. There should be “no delays”. According to information from NRD, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, this process caused anger in customs itself. Oil deals with Kazakhstan are actually considered to be highly risky because they could be used to circumvent Russia’s sanctions. Insiders say that real control of oil deliveries is now much more difficult.
The process is also explosive because there are concrete suspicions that Russia could make money from the deliveries. Rosneft Germany is currently under trust management. When asked, the General Customs Directorate generally stated that actual indications of sanctions violations were consistently investigated. Rosneft Deutschland GmbH did not comment on the matter. Even when asked by rbb at the specialist conference on Thursday in Schwedt, there were no statements.
Broadcast: Antenne Brandenburg, October 19, 2023, 4:40 p.m
2023-10-20 04:19:40
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