OMV awarded two new exploration licenses in Norway
May 27, 2009
- Position in E&P core region Northwestern Europe further strengthened
- OMV now has a total of eight offshore licenses in Norway
OMV, the leading energy group in the European growth belt has been awarded two additional offshore exploration licenses in Norway. Both new licenses, PL 529 and PL 537, are located in the Barents Sea. OMV (Norge) AS will operate PL 537 in a joint venture with Idemitsu, Spring Energy and SDØE. In PL 529, OMV is participating in a joint venture with Eni (operator), DONG and Wintershall. The licenses were awarded by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in the course of the 20th exploration licence round.
Helmut Langanger, OMV Executive Board member, responsible for Exploration and Production, stated: “With our new exploration licenses we are well on track to build a strong position as an exploration operator in Norway. Recent investments, high quality standards and a strong commitment to the region have proven that OMV is one of the most sustainable companies in the business, operating with a clear strategy for further developments”.
OMV Norge AS (40%) will operate the newly awarded license PL 537 with Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS, Spring Energy Norge AS and SDØE (each 20%) as joint venture partners. PL 537 covers an area of 597 km² in the Barents Sea, some 240 km north of the North Cape and is currently the northernmost licence in Norway.
In PL 529, OMV Norge AS (20%) is participating in a joint venture with Eni Norge AS (operator, 40%), DONG Norge AS (20%) and Wintershall Norge AS (20%). The licence covers an area of 676 km² and is located around 200 km west of Hammerfest.
OMV now holds five licenses (of which four are OMV operated) in the Barents Sea, an emerging exploration area with high potential which fits well with OMV’s overall strategic position and portfolio along the Atlantic Margin (West of Shetland, Ireland, Faroe Islands, Norwegian Sea). Norway will continue to play an important role as part of OMV’s core region Northwestern Europe.
Balanced international E&P portfolio
OMV holds a balanced international E&P portfolio in 17 countries structured around six core regions, namely CEE, North Africa, Northwestern Europe, the Middle East, Australia/New Zealand and Russia/Caspian region. OMV's current daily production volume is approximately 308,000 boe/d and the company's proven reserves at the end of 2008 were approximately 1.2 bn boe.
Background information:
PL 529
7016/2, 7116/11
Eni Norge AS (operator): 40%
DONG Norge AS: 20%
OMV Norge AS: 20%
Wintershall Norge AS: 20%
PL 537
7324/7, 8
OMV Norge AS (operator): 40%
Spring Energy Norge AS: 20%
Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS: 20%
SDØE: 20%
OMV in Norway
Norway is the seventh largest oil producing nation and the third largest oil exporter in the world. OMV (Norge) AS is a wholly owned subsidiary of OMV Exploration & Production GmbH, established in 2005 and headquartered in Stavanger. OMV (Norge) AS currently has interests in eight licenses: five in the Barents Sea, one in the Norwegian Sea and two in the North Sea; five licences are operated by OMV.
OMV Aktiengesellschaft
With Group sales of EUR 25.54 bn and a workforce of 41,282 employees in 2008, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies. As the leading energy group in the European growth belt, OMV is active in Refining and Marketing (R&M) in 13 countries. In Exploration and Production (E&P) OMV is active in 17 countries on four continents. In Gas & Power (G&P) OMV sells approximately 13 bcm gas per year. Via Baumgarten, one of the most important turntables for gas in Europe, approximately 66 bcm gas is transported annually. OMV’s Central European Gas Hub is amongst the three largest hubs in Continental Europe.
OMV is the leading energy group in the European growth belt with oil and gas reserves of approximately. 1.2 bn boe, daily production of around 308,000 boe and an annual refining capacity of approximately 26 mn t. OMV now has 2,477 filling stations in 13 countries. The market share of the group in the R&M business segment in the Danube Region is now 20%.
OMV further strengthened its leading position in the European growth belt through the acquisition of 41.58% of Petrol Ofisi, Turkey’s leading company in the retail and commercial business.
In June 2006, OMV has established the OMV Future Energy Fund, a wholly owned subsidiary to support projects in renewable energy with more than EUR 100 mn to initiate the change from a pure oil and gas group to an energy group with renewable energy in its portfolio.
OMV Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
OMV is a member of the UN Global Compact and actively committed to the values enshrined in its Code of Conduct. These include a strong sense of responsibility towards the social and natural environment in economically weak regions. OMV works hard to address economic, environmental and social issues related to its operations. The company reports on its CSR activities in a sustainability report according to Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. This report is published at the same time as the annual report.