US allows transactions with Rosneft Germany despite Russia sanctions

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday issued a general licence exempting transactions involving the German unit of Russia's Rosneft from U.S. sanctions, the U.S. Treasury Department said, providing much-needed clarity for Berlin over the business's future.

The licence, which does not include an end date, replaces one that was set to expire on April 29.

The extension of the existing U.S. sanctions ​waiver ​reduces the risk ⁠of disruptions to German refining operations at a time when the escalating ​conflict in the Middle East is unsettling ​global ⁠energy markets.

Germany placed the local units of Russia's ​Rosneft ROSN.MM under trusteeship in 2022 after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine upended Berlin's decades-long energy ties with Russia.

The assets include a ​stake in the PCK Schwedt refinery, a major ​supplier of fuel to the capital region.

In January, management at the refinery privately warned the German government that U.S. sanctions were hurting its business and threatening fuel supply for Berlin and the capital region, according to correspondence seen by Reuters.

Brussels recently approved a new trusteeship structure that establishes Berlin's long-term control over Rosneft's German assets, part of efforts to find a structural solution for the business.