Gas Industry

Austrian OMV Declares Exit from Russian Gas as "Extremely Difficult"

The CEO of the Austrian energy group OMV, Alfred Stern, currently sees hardly any possibility to get out of the Russian business with natural gas. He also sees no alternative to fossil fuels in the short term and talked about relations with Asia-Pacific.

March 28, 2023

Large Natural Gas Field Found in Austria

The small town of Molln in Upper Austria could make an important contribution to the gas supply of the entire country in the next few years if the conjectures prove true. Test drilling is said to have already taken place, therefore it is known that the gas is of the best quality. The Australian company ADX Energy wants to start drilling for it this spring.

January 16, 2023

Falling Gas Prices Will Be Visible in Months

Since the beginning of December, gas prices have decreased significantly in the European market. Gas prices went relatively low through control of prices and mild winter temperatures. However, the consumer will feel this decrease in several months.

January 3, 2023

Abu Dhabi-based ADNOC Acquires OMV Shares from Sovereign Wealth Fund Mubadala

There is a change in the ownership structure of the Austrian oil and gas group OMV. Long-time core shareholder Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, sells its 24.9 percent stake in OMV to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), also a state-owned company. The state holding company ÖBAG announced that it had been informed of the change in ownership.

December 23, 2022

Gas Pipeline Explodes in Russia

A Russian gas pipeline, which also exports gas to Austria, exploded while repair work was being done there. The explosion occurred in the Chuvashia region and killed three people.

December 20, 2022

Austria Supports Expansion of Croatian LNG Terminal Krk

Croatia wants to expand its terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the Adriatic island of Krk far beyond its own needs and develop it into a hub for gas supply in the region - gas is also to flow from there to Austria and Germany in the future. At a meeting on Krk, Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Bavaria's Minister President Markus Söder agreed to support each other in strengthening energy security, diversifying energy sources and ensuring the security of supply with natural gas and hydrogen.

November 24, 2022

Vienna Plans to Build its First Geothermal Plant by 2026

A geothermal plant, Vienna's first, is to supply 20,000 households with emission-free district heating. Wien Energie wants to set a milestone toward a climate-neutral city by 2026. An important milestone on the path to a climate-neutral major city is the use of deep geothermal energy. Wien Energie has now presented the concrete plans for this at a press conference with Peter Hanke, City Councillor for Economic Affairs.

November 14, 2022

Environment Ministry Opens New Information Portal on the Energy Situation in Austria

How full are Austria's gas storage facilities and how high is Austria's current electricity consumption? A new website of the Austrian Ministry of Climate Change lists a variety of key figures and data on Austria's energy supply. This is intended to present the latest data to the population in an understandable and effective way.

October 29, 2022

Gas Supply Security: Austrian Chancellor Travels to the United Arab Emirates

In order to secure gas supplies for the next few years, an Austrian delegation, led by Chancellor Karl Nehammer, travelled to Saudi Arabia to negotiate future gas supplies. How much liquefied natural gas could be delivered to Austria in the coming years can be read in the following article.

October 29, 2022

Inflation in Austria: Highest Value Since Post-War Period

Inflation in Austria is getting higher and higher. At 10.5%, it has now exceeded the magic limit of 10 percentage points and is thus considered the highest inflation in Austria since the post-war period. Read on if you want to know which products have become more expensive!

October 25, 2022

City of Vienna Establishes Energy Crisis Unit

The City of Vienna established an advisory committee on energy supply, which will work as a crisis unit on energy supply issues. Together with the crisis unit that has existed since the Covid pandemic, it is to accompany the preparations for the winter and make proposals for measures to secure energy supplies.

October 17, 2022

Austria Calls for Common European Gas Price Cap at EU Summit in Prague

At the first meeting of the "European Political Community", the informal summit of EU heads of state and government in Prague, Austria attracted particular attention by wanting to define a common EU gas price cap. For Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer it was clear in Prague that there would be "no embargo via the back door" when it comes to Russian gas.

October 11, 2022

Austria's Economy Demands Help with Energy Crisis

Many companies in Austria are currently struggling with the high energy prices. Now the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and the Federation of Austrian Industries are calling for political intervention to prevent company closures.

September 27, 2022

State of the EU 2022 Speech: Austria Wants to Usher in a Modern EU Future

The State of the EU address by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed many acute issues, including the war in Ukraine and its international repercussions. Austria's Minister for Europe responded.

September 15, 2022

Austrian Gas Storage Facilities Over 70 Percent Full

Austria's gas storage facilities are already more than 70 percent full. The contingency plans to secure gas supplies that were put into action as a result of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing energy crisis go according to plan as announced by Austria's government.

September 12, 2022

Austria's Gas Storage Facilities Almost 60 Percent Full

As a result of the war in Ukraine, contingency plans are being put in place in Europe, as well as in Austria, to secure gas supplies. Gas storage facilities in Austria are 59.83 percent full. This means that a total of 57.2 terawatt hours (TWh) of natural gas is stored in domestic storage facilities.

August 17, 2022

How the USA Assesses the Austrian Economy

Every year, the United States government publishes a report that informs US companies and investors about the business climate in more than 160 countries and economies, including Austria. In this US State Department report, business officials at embassies and missions around the world prepare and analyse a variety of economies that are or could be markets for US companies of all sizes. Read on if you want to know how the US views the Austrian economy!

August 4, 2022

New EU Gas Emergency Plan: "Must Prepare for the Worst Case"

Recently, the European Commission presented its new EU Gas Emergency Plan under the title "Save gas for a safe winter". In this, the European Commission assumes that consumers can save up to 15% gas. The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber is pleased with the Commission's plans.

July 22, 2022

How the War in Ukraine Affects Austrian Businesses

Besides causing enormous humanitarian and political problems, the Russian invasion has also caused a chain reaction in the economy that has been felt worldwide. Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) published a survey that examines exactly these questions in order to determine how strongly Austrian companies feel the crisis impacts them and which sectors are most affected.

July 19, 2022

Germany and Austria Seek Stronger Cooperation on Energy Security

Germany and Austria, seeking closer cooperation between the two countries in the current energy crisis, signed a joint declaration this week to mitigate the looming energy crisis.

July 15, 2022

Austria's and Hungary's Foreign Ministers in Talks: "Western Balkan Enlargement is the Best Geopolitical Tool We Have"

During a recent visit to Vienna, the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó met with the Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg. Apart from bilateral issues, the meeting focused on the Russian aggression in Ukraine and its effects on Central European neighbors and Western Balkans. The two foreign ministers also discussed European energy security.

July 15, 2022

Weekly Briefing: Newest Developments in Diplomacy and Vienna

Read about the latest developments in diplomacy in Vienna and Austria. The Georgian Prime Minister visited Austria and Vienna enables Ukrainian displaced persons to graduate from Ukrainian high school. In addition, Austria's Chancellor visited Israel and concluded an important agreement there. Furthermore, expats in Austria appreciate the high quality of life, but do not feel welcome. Read more about this week's developments.

July 14, 2022

Austrian Chancellor Visits Israel: "Possible Partner for Future Gas Purchases"

Austria's Chancellor travelled to Israel this week to meet with Israel's Prime Minister Yair Lapid. During his visit, the Chancellor expressed interest in Israel's weapons technology and future gas supplies. Besides signing a strategic partnership, Nehammer also visited the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem.

July 13, 2022

Austrian National Bank Expects Highest Inflation Rate in 50 Years

In a recent analysis, the Austrian National Bank expects inflation in Austria to settle at 7.6% in 2022. This particularly high value represents the highest inflation since the crude oil crisis in the 1970s. Inflation is also expected to remain above the target of 1.9% in the coming years.

July 11, 2022

OPEC Secretary General, Mohammad Barkindo Passed Away Unexpectedly

Last night, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo passed away unexpectedly at the age of 63. His Excellency Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo of Nigeria had been Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for the past six years and was due to hand over to Haitham Al-Ghais of Kuwait in early August.

July 6, 2022

OPEC Releases Annual Flagship Publication in Vienna

This week, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) presented its Annual Statistical Bulletin (ASB) 2022. This report, which presents a large number of statistics and data on oil market developments in recent years, is the organisation's most important publication alongside the World Oil Outlook.

June 28, 2022

Austrian Exit From Russian Gas Possible: "Major Effort Necessary"

The exit from oil and gas supplies from Russia, which has been much called for at both national and international level, has been occupying the EU and also the Austrian government for weeks. Now the Austrian Energy Minister has presented a plan on how this planned phase-out can be achieved by 2027 and what concrete measures need to be taken to achieve it.

May 19, 2022

Austria and the Indecision for the Gas Embargo

The war in Ukraine has been raging for two months. To stop Russia, a great many countries have imposed tough sanctions on Russia. Many European countries and the U.S.A. want to impose a gas embargo on Russia. Austria is still very cautious about this step.

May 3, 2022

Russian Gas Supplies: Wien Energie Invests One Billion Euros in Gas Exit

Austria's largest energy company, Wien Energie, is taking a big step towards independence from Russian gas supplies. The company is investing a sum of one billion euros in the expansion of renewable energies and thus wants to end the purchase of fossil fuels step by step in the next 5 years.

May 2, 2022

Austria Could Be Independent of Russian Gas by 2027

In order not to be further dependent on gas supplies from Russia, the Austrian energy minister is planning to phase out Russian gas by 2027. Since Austria is enormously dependent on Russian suppliers, it is not possible to do without imports in the short term. If you want to know what measures Austria will strive for, read on.

April 27, 2022

Due to the Ukraine War: Austrian National Bank Still Expects Huge Inflation in 2022

Shortages of raw materials and high energy prices, triggered by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, have led to an increased inflation rate of 5.6% in Austria. After the highest measured inflation rate in March 2022 since joining the monetary union, there is no easing now; this is not expected until 2023.

April 11, 2022

Vienna Presents Itself as a Bridge Builder: Austrian Chancellor to Meet Putin in Moscow

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer will meet Russian President Putin in Moscow for talks. It will be the first meeting of an EU head of government with Putin since the beginning of the war. After the recent expulsion of four Russian diplomats and in view of the current stalemate a daring but diplomatically sensible step.

April 10, 2022

Europe's Energy Dilemma Requiring Austria and Germany to Rethink in Wake of Russian Aggression

Due to the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Europe has to face new questions about energy policy, which had been known for many years but were largely ignored and deferred. The much-discussed gas embargo in recent weeks is to further intensify the sanctions against Russia and its economy. Read more about the current situation.

April 6, 2022

NATO and EU Military Committee Meet Regarding Western Balkans

A joint meeting of the NATO Military Committee and the European Union Military Committee was held to discuss the current security situation in the Western Balkans as well as the EU's ongoing Operation Althea. In the context of the Russian military aggression on Ukraine, stability in the Balkans increases in importance.

March 29, 2022

Austria Kicks Off Detachment Process from 80 Percent Dependence on Russian Gas

In order to no longer be dependent on Russian gas imports, the Austrian federal government decided on a new stockpiling of natural gas. This is to provide for the case of an import stop from Russia. Despite the high level of approval, the proposal has nevertheless come in for criticism.

March 25, 2022

Putin's Aggression Against Ukraine as a Trigger for the Flare-up of the Austrian Neutrality Debate

Russia's fabricated pretext for war, Russian use of disinformation to distract and deflect responsibility and eventually Russia's invasion of Ukraine could become the turning point for Austria's security policy. Parliamentary groups discussed Austria's position in the field of tension between neutrality, NATO accession and the EU army.

March 23, 2022

Putin's War Forces OMV to Make Most Fundamental Strategic Shift in Its History

Russia's aggression toward Ukraine is forcing OMV, the Austrian oil, gas and petrochemical group to take drastic measures. The company's management decided to stop all investment activities in Russia and to rely on alternative suppliers in the future. OMV thus joins many other companies that are slowly turning their backs on the Russian market.

March 17, 2022

How Gazprom Helps the Kremlin to Manipulate Austria

The Russian government uses the majority state-owned energy corporation Gazprom to exploit Europe's dependency on Russian natural gas, and Austria is no exception. Read how the Kremlin uses Gazprom to influence Austria.

March 8, 2022

Putin's People in Austria and Beyond

Following Putin's invasion of eastern Ukraine with the aim of regaining former Soviet territory, two former European prime ministers from Italy and Finland have already resigned from the supervisory boards of two Russian companies. However, some Austrian and German politicians see no reason to resign their mandates. In the following some explanations why.

February 25, 2022 · Updated: February 25, 2022; 11:23

Austria Promises Legal Action After EU Commission's Nuclear Energy Decision

Austria has vowed to take legal action against the European Commission after it decided to include nuclear energy and natural gas as sustainable investments under the EU Taxonomy Regulation. Read what the Austrian president, chancellor, and climate minister said about this decision.

February 3, 2022

Alfred Stern Takes Over from Rainer Seele as CEO of OMV

Effective September 1, 2021, Alfred Stern will assume the position as Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of OMV, the Austrian oil and gas group.

August 31, 2021

Austrian Wholesale Prices: Largest Increase Since March 2011

In July 2021, wholesale prices saw their largest year-over-year increase since March 2011. The increases can be seen in the steel industry, gas industry, agricultural industry, and more. Read about which other industries the increases are affecting and just how significant the increases are.

August 6, 2021

Voestalpine: Short-time Work in 50 European Subsidiaries

The biggest economic challenge of the past decade represented by the coronavirus pandemic has hit the Austrian technology group Voestalpine hard. Short-time work in Austria and other European countries such as Germany, Belgium and France is unavoidable due to the slump in demand.

March 24, 2020

Wolfgang Schüssel Joins the Lukoil Supervisory Board - Who are His Colleagues?

As a press release of Lukoil revealed, the former Austrian Chancellor Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel takes over one of 12 supervisory board positions in the second largest Russian company PJSC Lukoil Oil Company as Independent Director. Who are his 11 supervisory board colleagues?

March 13, 2019

What is Lukoil and What Does It Do in Austria?

Lukoil Oil Company is the second largest Russian oil multinational with a turnover of USD 102 billion, of which approximately USD 250 million comes from Austria. Lukoil has been represented in Austria since 1995 and currently operates from Vienna four subsidiaries with activities in 40 countries.

March 13, 2019

Austria's Dependence on Russian Gas Increased by 33 Percent

The effects of the amendment to the contract on gas supplies from Russia to Austria signed last year become visible. A meeting in Moscow between Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Executive Board of OMV, and Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, revealed that gas deliveries between January 1 and March 5, 2019 increased by 32.9 per cent compared to the same period last year.

March 6, 2019

Chancellor Kurz in Washington, D.C. - Trump Demands Higher Military Expenditures

US President Donald Trump and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz met in the White House for a working meeting. The trade relations, the demand for higher military expenditures for Austria, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project and the Serbia-Kosovo conflict were addressed.

February 21, 2019

OMV Doubles Net Profit and Achieves 2018 Most Profitable Result in Company History

Austria's largest and listed industrial company, the oil and gas group OMV, achieved its most profitable result in the company's history in 2018 with a net profit of almost two billion euros.

February 7, 2019

OMV Celebrates 50 Years of Lucrative Natural Gas Business

On 1 June 1968, a historic gas supply contract was signed in Vienna, establishing Austria’s role as a key country in Europe’s natural gas network. The 50-year collaboration with Russia is a win-win situation. Then, as now, natural gas plays a key role in OMV's portfolio, as European demand will continue to increase over the next decades. OMV is Gazprom’s main partner in Austria. The companies cooperate in gas production, transportation and supplies.

June 6, 2018

Putin's Austria Visit: Extension of Gazprom Gas Supply Contract until 2040

OMV has formally confirmed the extension of the gas supply contract with Russia's Gazprom on the occasion of the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Austria by the two CEOs Alexey Miller and Rainer Seele.

June 6, 2018