Carbon Efficiency Performance
OMV recognizes climate change as one of the most important global challenges. OMV integrates risks and opportunities related to climate change impacts into the development of the Company’s business strategy and the planning of operational activities. In this regard, OMV aims to reduce its carbon footprint in an effort to mitigate the impact of its operations and product portfolio on climate change. OMV implements measures aimed at optimizing its operational processes, increasing energy efficiency, reducing flaring and venting, and reducing methane emissions through leakage detection and improvement of asset integrity. For example, as a result of the Upstream Energy Efficiency Program at OMV Petrom, 36 gas-to-power (G2P) and combined heat and power (CHP) plants have been installed so far, resulting in a reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions of 130,000 t. We will continue phasing out routine flaring and venting as soon as possible, but no later than by 2030, as part of OMV’s commitment to the World Bank’s “Zero routine flaring by 2030” initiative.
A cornerstone of our climate strategy is increasing the share of natural gas in our product portfolio. Based on our Upstream production project pipeline, we will increase the share of natural gas in our Upstream portfolio to 65% by 2025. In 2019, the Larak gas development project came on stream in Malaysia, and the Nawara gas development and pipeline project in Tunisia is foreseen to start production in 2020. The divestment of the Maari oil field shifts OMV in New Zealand to a gas-only producer and eliminates 280,000 t of greenhouse gas emissions per year from OMV Upstream operations. This reinforces OMV’s strategy of placing the focus on natural gas production rather than oil.
Additionally, OMV extended the Russian natural gas supply contracts until 2040. The higher share of natural gas in OMV’s overall product portfolio will contribute to the reduction of the product portfolio’s carbon intensity. In 2019, we also began selling climate-neutral gas to our customers, offsetting greenhouse gas emissions through projects certified by the Verified Carbon Standard and the Gold Standard, such as Bulgaria’s Saint Nikola wind farm.
In addition to increasing the share of natural gas products, we also focus on lower carbon/higher value-added petrochemicals, and alternative fuels such as hydrogen and electro mobility options.
In 2019, OMV and AustroCel Hallein GmbH signed a multi-year agreement to supply advanced bioethanol. The fuel components will be derived exclusively from spruce-based cellulose, which is a scrap material in the sawmill industry. The sustainable source material of these fuel components leads them to be classified as “advanced biofuels.” In future they will be added to OMV gasoline to fulfill legal additive requirements for reducing the carbon intensity of fuels.
In 2019, OMV achieved an outstanding CDP Climate Change score of A– (Leadership) for the fourth time in a row. With its CDP Climate Change score, OMV is among fourteen companies in the global oil and gas sector that achieved a leadership score and among the top five companies across all sectors in Austria.