British oil major Shell has ended negotiations to sell its stake in Germany's Russia-linked Schwedt refinery to Polish energy group Unimot, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The sale discussions, which began in 2023, concluded months ago, the Bloomberg report said.
Shell declined to comment.
Unimot, which emerged as a possible buyer of Shell's 37.5% stake in Germany's PCK Schwedt refinery, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.
The refinery, majority-owned by Russia's Rosneft, has been a problem for the German government ever since Berlin ended energy ties with Moscow in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Germany put Rosneft's 54.17% stake under trusteeship, essentially giving the government control over the asset while technically leaving ownership in the Russian group's hands — a move that prompted Shell to revive its sale plans.
According to Bloomberg, Shell and Unimot had been in advanced talks as of February, before ending talks.
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