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
Also in this section
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
9 March 2026
Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
6 March 2026
The March 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
6 March 2026
After Europe’s rapid buildout of floating LNG import capacity, Exmar CEO Carl-Antoine Saverys says future growth in floating gas infrastructure will increasingly be driven by developing markets as lower prices, rising energy demand and the need to replace coal unlock new opportunities for unconventional and tailor-made solutions
