Regular inspections at OMV Schwechat Refinery

News Release, March 16th 2016 - 12:30 pm (CET)

• In April 2016 part of the OMV Schwechat Refinery will be shut down as planned for a comprehensive, routine safety inspection
• Cleaning, inspection and preventative maintenance of the refinery
• Primary focus is on the safety of staff, partner companies and neighbors

Around half of the facilities at the OMV refinery in Schwechat will be shut down in April 2016 – including the crude distillation unit 4, the "heart of the refinery". The goal of this routine, so-called “turnaround” is the thorough cleaning, inspection and maintenance of the parts of the plant. The inspection will be conducted by TÜV Österreich; it is carried out every six years and required by law. Safety and the greatest possible consideration for the local community are the top priority.

During the turnaround the supply of crude will be stopped and the plant will be cleared of hydrocarbons with the help of steam and nitrogen. This will then be followed by the dismantling and cleaning of the plant components for inspections, pressure tests and possible repairs. Within just a few weeks, inspection works will be carried out on 16 process furnaces, 44 columns (mostly distillation facilities), 478 heat exchangers, 2,128 valves and 1,090 safety valves, as well as a range of repairs on the pipes. 12.6 km of pipes will be replaced and 306 tons of steel will be processed.

Around 2,500 additional skilled workers will be on the refinery compound, for which OMV is hiring numerous partner companies from Austria and Europe. The comprehensive preparatory works for the turnaround began as early as two years ago.

A central aspect of the 2016 turnaround is integrating the desulfurization column, which was transported with spectacular heavy haulage to the Schwechat Refinery in June 2015.

Safety is the top priority
Maximum safety for local communities, partner companies and employees is a critical factor. Comprehensive health, safety and security measures, primary medical care which has been expanded to include prevention, training for all staff from OMV and partner companies before carrying out work, and the implementation of around 40 experienced and professional safety officers across the Group guarantee the highest HSSE standards for neighbors, the environment and staff. A "Green Telephone" will be available around the clock for any questions during the entire turnaround on the number +43 664 9108787.

As the deployment of additional staff is expected to lead to increased traffic, temporary parking facilities have been set up, including those near the A4 Ostautobahn.

In 2016 a turnaround will be conducted on the fuels units. This will be followed in 2017 by the petrochemicals units, i.e. the units which are used for producing precursors for plastics production.

YouTube Videos:

• Turnaround 2016 in the OMV refinery Schwechat: http://bit.ly/1RLRL2o
• High & heavy: a desulfurization column on the move: http://bit.ly/1M55PHr
• The refinery Schwechat: High-tech on its highest level: http://bit.ly/1WnLq11 

Background information:

OMV Aktiengesellschaft
With Group sales of EUR 23 bn and a workforce of around 24,100 employees in 2015, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies. In Upstream, OMV focuses on three core regions – CEE (Romania, Austria), North Sea as well as Middle East and Africa – and selected development areas.  2015 daily production stood at approximately 303 kboe/d. In Downstream, OMV has an annual refining capacity of 17.8 mn tonnes and approximately 3,800 filling stations in 11 countries as of end of 2015. OMV operates a gas pipeline network in Austria and gas storage facilities in Austria and Germany. In 2015, gas sales volumes amounted to 110 TWh.

download image: (f.l.t.r.): Head of the OMV Raffinerie Schwechat Thomas Gangl, mayor of Schwechat Karin Baier and Stefan Hölbfer, Turnaround Management - Credit: OMV, (JPG, 175,5 KB)

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