According to a source familiar with the matter, the United States plans to indefinitely exempt the German subsidiary of Rosneft PJSC from sanctions imposed on the Russian oil major. The move follows intense diplomatic negotiations and is seen as a success for Berlin.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is expected to announce the decision on Friday, although the timing could still shift, the source said, requesting anonymity because the discussions are confidential. Rosneft’s German assets—which Berlin seized after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has since kept under trusteeship—have been left in limbo since sanctions were imposed on the parent company late last year.
Germany’s economy ministry said it is in close and constructive contact with the relevant US authorities regarding an extension of the sanctions exemption.
The arrangement reduces the risk that sanctions could disrupt the operations of German oil refineries—at a time when the escalating war in the Middle East is already heightening tensions in global energy markets.
Rosneft Deutschland holds stakes in three refineries in Germany, which together account for about 12% of the country’s total refining capacity, including the PCK Raffinerie GmbH plant in Schwedt near Berlin. The company also participates in the Transalpine Pipeline project.
The United States initially gave Germany six months to resolve the future of Rosneft’s assets, a deadline that was due to expire in April 2026. Berlin struggled to find a buyer willing to take over the assets while also trying to avoid nationalizing them, fearing the Kremlin could retaliate against German companies operating in Russia.