BP puts Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany up for sale

: Crude oil, Oil products, Petrochemicals
25/02/06

BP said today it will begin seeking buyers for its Ruhr Oel business, which includes the 257,800 b/d Gelsenkirchen refinery and an associated petrochemicals plant in western Germany.

The UK company hopes to reach a sales agreement in 2025, although the exact timing will depend on approval of local competition authorities, it said.

The sale should have no affect on short-term supply of oil products in western Germany as the refinery will keep up normal production in the interim, the company said in a press release.

BP had said it planned to downsize Gelsenkirchen, shutting four unitsand reducing its crude capacity by a third. The shutdown of the affected units is scheduled for the end of the 2025 and will go ahead, BP told Argus.

Potential buyers are not yet known. BP is the latest in a series of companies looking to sell or reduce their refinery shares in Germany.

Shell is still searching for a buyer for its 37.5pc stake in the PCK consortium's 226,000 b/d Schwedt refinery, in eastern Germany, after a sale to UK energy firm Prax fell through in late December. Shell was also in discussions to sell its 32.25pc stake in the Miro's consortium's 310,000 b/d Karlsruhe refinery to czech company MERO CR in 2024, which did not result in a sales agreement. Shell is further on track to shut down the Wesseling plant at its 334,000 b/d Rhineland refinery complex.

Russian state-controlled Rosneft intends to sell its German subsidiaries, Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing, which are held under the trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency. These assets include a controlling stake in the PCK joint venture, a 24pc share in the Miro's consortium and a 28.6pc share in the Bayernoil joint venture, operator of the 207,000 b/d Neustadt-Vohburg refinery in Bavaria.

ExxonMobil announced its intention to sell its 25pc stake in the Karlsruhe refinery to Austria's Alcmene, a subsidiary of Estonia's Liwathon, in 2023. The sale fell through in July 2024 after a German court upheld a ruling banning the company from selling its stakes in the Miro consortium following an injunction filed by Shell.

BP also operates the 95,000 b/d Lingen refinery in western Germany. This is unaffected by the sale plan for Gelsenkirchen.

By Natalie Müller

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