Energy

Energy

At the heart of our success in our 3 core regions – North, CEE, and South – are our employees in our 3 powerhouses: Exploration & Production (E&P), Gas Marketing & Power, and Low Carbon Business.

Our deep expertise in geology, geoscience, drilling, subsurface and surface engineering, advanced production technologies, gas trading, low carbon technologies and digitalization is essential in driving OMV’s strategic and transformation efforts to becoming a net-zero company and to ensure secure, affordable and diversified energy supply.

Our businesses

  • Our Exploration & Production business engages in exploration and appraisal, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas. In 2023, our daily hydrocarbon production was 364 thousand barrels of oil equivalents per day (kboe/d), with an almost even split between liquids and natural gas
  • Our Gas business comprises a comprehensive natural gas sales and logistics network, operating from wellhead to end customer. We hold a 65% stake in the Central European Gas Hub (CEGH) and operate natural gas storage facilities in Austria and Germany with a combined capacity of around 30 terawatt hours (TWh), along with a 860 megawatt-hour (MW) gas-fired power plant in Romania
  • Our Low Carbon business is focused on developing sustainable sources of energy for the future, including geothermal projects, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), and renewable power solutions. We will be investing EUR 5bn by 2030 to drive future growth

“We are investing in affordable energy today, and are simultaneously building a future growth area with our low-carbon solutions. Through our E&P and Gas businesses, we meet today’s energy needs and create value for OMV. In addition, we established a dedicated Low Carbon business unit two years ago, which has since gained significant momentum both nationally and internationally. Here we focus on geothermal, CCS and renewable energy. Our commitment to replacing fossil fuels with low-carbon alternatives demonstrates our proactive approach to creating an environmentally responsible energy landscape for future generations,” says Berislav Gašo, OMV Executive Vice President Energy

Energy strategy

Our priorities are:

  • To be a safety champion across our operations
  • To attract, develop and retain the best people
  • To reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, phase out gas flaring, venting and reduce fugitive methane emissions

In Exploration & Production, our priorities are:

  • To manage our portfolio as a robust cash generator to support our transformation
  • To high-grade our portfolio and reposition ourselves as a Europe-centric player with our 3 core regions – North, CEE and South
  • To target a production rate of approximately 350 kboe/d by 2030, with a 60% share of natural gas
  • To continuously strive for efficiency and deliver production costs below USD 9/boe and build a portfolio with a cash break-even below USD 30/boe

In Gas & Power, our priorities are:

  • To strengthen and diversify the gas portfolio in the West
  • To leverage our gas-power linkage in the East

In Low Carbon Business, our priorities are:

  • To invest EUR 5 bn until 2030 to drive future growth in three areas: geothermal, CCS and renewables
  • To target 4 TWh of geothermal energy, 3-4 TWh of renewable power and ~3mn tons of CCS capacity per year by 2030

Energy in figures

  • Average Brent price USD 82.64/bbl
  • Average realized crude oil price USD 79.21/bbl
  • Average realized natural gas price EUR 29.09/MWh
  • Clean Operating Result: EUR 4.36bn
  • Total hydrocarbon production 364 kboe/d
  • Production Cost: USD 9.67/boe
  • Proved reserves as of December 31: 1,136 mn boe

Our regional focus

We refocus our production portfolio in and around Europe:

North: Norway

  • To high-grade portfolio in the Norwegian Continental Shelf
  • To focus on gas
  • To leverage tax synergies

CEE: Austria, Romania

  • To leverage strong capabilities as operator of mature fields
  • To deliver 140 kboe/d gross Neptun Deep gas development on time and on budget
  • To improve operational efficiency
  • To explore growth opportunities in the Black Sea

South: UAE, Tunisia, Libya, Kurdistan region of Iraq

  • To build a stronger position in North Africa and/or the Mediterranean alongside the UAE position

Key projects and activities

Exploration & Production

Our traditional E&P portfolio is actively managed to deliver resilient cash flows, and our gas projects underscore the importance of gas as a bridge fuel.

  • Neptun Deep, Romania

    OMV Petrom 50%

    Neptun Deep is a 7,500 km² natural gas block located in the Black Sea, operated by OMV Petrom. Drilling is scheduled to begin in 2025, with production of natural gas expected by 2027. The project worth EUR 4bn will make Romania the largest natural gas producer in the European Union and will double OMV Petrom’s natural gas output.

  • Wittau, Austria
    OMV 100%

    The Wittau Tief-2a well is a significant natural gas discovery in Lower Austria, with estimates suggesting recoverable resources of around 48 TWh. Following a successful exploration in mid-2023, we’ve moved rapidly through the development and concept selection stages and plan to make a final investment decision during 2024. The project is expected to double our natural gas production in Austria.
  • Berling (formerly Hades/Iris), Norway
    OMV 30%

    The Berling gas and condensate field is located on Haltenbanken in the Norwegian Sea. The project has now achieved a final investment decision, and the Plan for Development and Operation has been approved by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. Production is expected to begin in 2028.

    Gas & Power

    • Storage:
      We are a reliable operator of storage capacity in Austria and Germany. With these storage capacities, we provide the market with flexibility and make an important contribution to security of supply
    • LNG:
      Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is key to our efforts to diversify our natural gas supply portfolio and support energy security. We have regasification capabilities at the Gate LNG terminal in the port of Rotterdam and long-term LNG supply contracts

    • Gas sales and supply:
      We are a reliable supplier to our customers, have a strong and balanced gas sales portfolio, and offer fully diversified sources of supply. We are not dependent on Russian gas. In addition, we have a solid supply portfolio in Romania with a ramp-up of equity gas volumes in 2027 when Neptun Deep comes on stream
    • Optimization and trading:
      We are constantly optimizing our supply, transportation and storage and focusing on asset-backed trading
    • Power:

      Here we are building a strong portfolio of renewable power projects in Romania, with a focus on gas-electricity integration. We also operate an 860 MW gas-fired power plant in Romania

    Low Carbon Business

    Geothermal

    In geothermal energy, we work with two systems:

    Hydro-geothermal systems are based on proven technology. Hot formation water is extracted from aquifers and recycled.

    • The “deeep” joint venture:
      We’re working with Wien Energie in a joint venture called “deeep” to develop deep geothermal plants in the greater Vienna area. The first plant will be in Aspern, northeast of Vienna, and drilling is expected to begin in late 2024. The plant will have a capacity of 20 MW in combination with heat pumps, starting from 2027. This capacity will be enough to supply around 20,000 households. Our goal is to establish multiple plants with a combined capacity of 200 MW – enough to supply carbon-neutral heat to 200,000 homes

    Closed-loop deep geothermal is an innovative technology that circulates a fluid through a series of closed loops with great potential for scalability.

    • Strategic partnership with Eavor Technologies Inc.
      We hold a 6.5% stake in Eavor Technologies Inc. Canada-based Eavor are global leaders in closed-loop geothermal energy solutions. Together with Eavor, we’re working towards large-scale deployment of Eavor-Loop™ technology in Europe, especially in Germany. The technology will enable us to provide district heating solutions in areas outside of conventional hydrothermal resources

    Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)


    • Poseidon license
      OMV Norge 50%

      Together with Aker BP, we hold the Poseidon license to store CO2 in the Norwegian North Sea. The project has the potential for over 5mn tons of CO2 to be stored annually. We intend to use the site as storage for CO2 captured from various industrial plants across North-West Europe, including from Borealis’ European facilities. A 3D seismic survey was successfully carried out in late 2023. By 2025, we have to make a drill-or-drop decision.
    • Iroko license
      OMV Norge 30%

      In partnership with Vår Energi (operator) and Lime Petroleum AS, we were awarded a second CO2 storage license. The license, called Iroko, is located in the Central Norwegian North Sea and can store around 215mn metric tons of CO2, with the injection capacity expected to exceed 7.5mn metric tons of CO2 per year.

    Renewable projects

    We’re working with Complexul Energetic Oltenia to develop 4 solar power projects with a combined capacity of around 450 MW. The financing contracts were signed by the Ministry of Energy in 2023. In addition, we’ve agreed to purchase several solar power parks planned for development in Romania, which will have a total capacity of around 710 MW.

    We have a 50% stake in Electrocentrale Borzesti, which holds around 1 GW of renewable energy projects, made up of 950 MW from wind and 50 MW from solar. The projects will be developed, constructed, and operated in collaboration with RNV Infrastructure. 

    We also expanded our partnership with Renovatio through the acquisition of a 50% stake in renewable energy projects amounting to 130 MW. With this new transaction, the total joint portfolio held by the two partners exceeds 1.1 GW.


    Innovation, digitalization and new technologies


    • We collaborate with external partners like Wien Energie, and universities including Stanford, the University of Texas, and Montanuniversität Leoben to scout for new technologies and foster open innovation. By developing state-of-the-art online monitoring systems, emission control technologies, AI and machine learning subsurface workflows, and water treatment processes, we aim to ensure safe, sustainable, and stable operations worldwide
    • The OMV Tech Center Lab (TCL) in Austria and the OMV Petrom Upstream Laboratory (ICPT) in Romania are highly specialized energy technology centers and laboratories that support all of our global operations, ensuring safe and sustainable operations
    • We’re constructing our first semi-automated onshore rig in Romania. It will improve our HSSE performance by moving people outside the risk zones and will increase drilling efficiency by reducing time and costs