SCHWEDT (GERMANY) – The PCK refinery in the German town of Schwedt has been processing crude oil from Russia since before reunification, but with a ban on Russian oil looming its future could be in doubt.
The mass of metal tubes and canisters in the former East Germany near the border with Poland employs 1,200 people, and many local businesses depend on the custom it brings to the area.
“The sense of not knowing what will happen tomorrow is very similar to how it felt after the fall of the Wall,” said Buckhard Opitz, 60, who has worked at the plant since 1977 and is a member of the local energy workers’ union.
Opitz has not forgotten the economic turbulence…
