Germany’s decision on Rosneft means complete loss of assets - Company

The German government’s decision to place the German subsidiaries of Rosneft under the trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency means a complete loss of assets for the Russian company, Rosneft said on Friday, adding that it will work on protecting those assets.

Earlier in the day, the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action said that the German government announced it was taking control of the German operations of Russian energy firm Rosneft in a bid to secure energy supplies affected by the European sanctions on Russia in the wake of the Ukraine war.

"The decision of the German Federal Government to transfer the company's German assets to the federal grid agency for external management, unfortunately, is not unexpected for us and is in line with the US-imposed algorithm of actions in relation to Russian enterprises in Germany. This decision is illegal and, in fact, is expropriation of shareholding as a result of a situation deliberately created by the relevant EU sanctions and the actions of German and Polish regulators, the purpose of which was to seize assets," Rosneft said in a statement.    

The Russian company added that Germany's decision violates the principles of the market economy.  

"The company understands that the decision taken by the Federal Government of Germany is not temporary, and, in fact, means the irretrievable loss of assets. Rosneft will work out all possible measures to protect shareholders, including going to court," Rosneft said, adding that it is ready to negotiate a new contract if "there are guarantees of payment for supplied raw materials and protection of investments."

Read: EU ban on Russian oil could lead to 'disruptions': German minister