The PCK refinery in Schwedt has been undergoing an extensive technical inspection since April – the plants should be back in operation at the beginning of June. A company spokeswoman said that the end of the standstill could not be determined to a specific day. “The work is expected to be completed in early June.” Crude oil processing is throttled during the overhaul of the plant.
Most of the revision was completed by May 17, according to the PCK. “The peak is over,” said the spokeswoman. Until the systems are handed over and started up again, there will still be maintenance work, said the spokeswoman. The review covered 17 out of 36 units at the refinery.
Utilization is expected to increase after maintenance
According to the PCK, around 3,100 additional workers were needed for the revision. The number of workers had already been reduced this week, it said.
Refinery utilization is expected to increase after the maintenance. Managing Director Ralf Schairer announced about two weeks ago that the plant would reach 70 percent capacity in June. A large shipment of oil for the refinery in the Polish port city of Gdansk arrived by tanker last week. According to the company, since Russian oil has stopped coming to Schwedt, the average occupancy rate has been 58 percent.
The debate about the future and course of the refinery in north-eastern Brandenburg has been going on for months. Following a decision by the federal government because of the war in Ukraine, no Russian oil has flowed to Schwedt via the Druzhba pipeline since January.
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## Contacts – Author: Monika Wendel (Berlin), +49 171 7684961, – Editor: Johanna Uchtmann (Berlin), +49 30 2852 32242,
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