Difficult times for Germany’s downstream

Europe’s refining sector is desperately trying to adapt to a shifting global energy landscape and nowhere is this more apparent than in its largest economy

While structural shifts are occurring across the whole refining sector in Europe, the most noticeable changes are happening in Germany. Its refining industry is suffering from a number of factors, including tightening environmental regulations, a strategic shift towards cleaner energy, a decline in demand for refined products, and rising feedstock costs brought about by EU sanctions against Russia. Recent examples of these shifts are the 147,000-b/d Wesseling refinery and 260,000-b/d Gelsenkirchen, with the first already closed and the latter possibly cutting capacity to 160,000 b/d.   In May this year, Shell closed its 147,000-b/d Wesseling facility to repurpose the site for producing Group