OMV MaxxMotion – two refineries, one concept

Winters can get bitterly cold in our part of the world. Nevertheless, diesel drivers do not have to worry about the weather: With OMV fuel, their engine will start even at the coldest temperatures. But there is more to OMV MaxxMotion. Whether it is gasoline or diesel, summer or winter: The premium fuel delivers maximum performance while protecting the environment at the same time. Premium fuels are excellent business – demand is high, especially in Eastern Europe. To efficiently serve these markets, OMV MaxxMotion performance fuel is not only produced at the Schwechat refinery in Austria – in 2011, it was also introduced at Petrobrazi, the refinery of Romanian subsidiary OMV Petrom.

The introduction of a new fuel into a refinery’s production processes is complex

Our colleague Alexandru Nica is responsible for production planning at Petrobrazi refinery. He talks to us about the complex process of introducing a new fuel into a refinery’s production. Every refinery uses its own raw materials, processes and production units. Crude oil at Petrobrazi has a different composition than crude oil at Schwechat. The Romanian refinery operates production units other than those in Austria. Therefore, production processes and component composition must be adapted. A lot of experience and expertise is required for fine-tuning a new fuel for existing processes.

For this task, Alexandru’s team received support from Schwechat. “This is part of OMV’s modern product development process”, says Ingrid Stopper who is responsible for OMV’s fuel development. The development teams always accompany their fuels all the way from the lab to engine and driving test and then on to actual production in the refineries. This way, they make sure that the high quality of OMV MaxxMotion gasoline and diesel is identical at filling stations in all nine countries – no matter which refinery produced them. 

Our fuel developments create added value for drivers: clean combustion, long engine life and more fun behind the wheel. 
Ingrid Stopper, OMV Department Manager Product Development

This adaptation requires extensive additivation expertise – especially with diesel: In close cooperation with the production team, Ingrid’s team adapted the admixture of special fuel additives to Petrobrazi refinery’s conditions step-by-step. After extensive lab tests, they ran the new formulation through the production plants. Petrobrazi now produces OMV MaxxMotion to these specifications, perfectly meeting quality demands.

Our knowledge transfer with the Schwechat team has been great. It enabled us to optimize our processes and launch OMV MaxxMotion, a top product, to our customers here.
Alexandru Nica, OMV Petrom Head of Planning, Crude & Risk Management

OMV MaxxMotion performance fuels have been an important part of the OMV portfolio since 2011, providing optimum performance to gasoline and diesel engines. The precisely adapted additivation formulation is not only the secret behind diesel’s excellent cold resistance; it also ensures a clean and efficient combustion process, thus lowering emissions and prolonging engine life – which is just as effective in modern vehicles as it is for older engine generations.

Perfect integration from well to tank 

OMV generates additional competitive advantages from the integration of its Upstream and Downstream businesses. Special synergies come from using equity crude oil. Romania is the greatest contributor to the OMV portfolio in terms of equity production and all Romanian equity oil is processed at the Petrobrazi refinery. Cross-segment planning reduces logistics costs and optimizes margins.

OMV MaxxMotion sales have been growing for years. OMV’s dedicated commitment from well to filling station enables the long, reliable operation of engines in all OMV markets.