Carbon Efficiency Performance

OMV recognizes climate change as one of the most important global challenges and fully supports the goals set forth by the Paris Climate Change Agreement. 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 instance, four steam turbines generate 85% of the electricity needed to operate the Schwechat refinery. In the course of a planned inspection of one of these steam turbines, we implemented a technological advance: specially molded turbine blades that increase efficiency and reduce CO₂ emissions. By 2021, a total of three turbines will be modernized, decreasing CO₂ emissions by some 60,000 t per year. We will continue phasing out routine flaring and venting as soon as possible, but no later than 2030, as part of OMV’s commitment to the World Bank’s “Zero routine flaring by 2030” initiative. We are also increasingly turning to renewable sources of electricity to power our operations. OMV and electricity producer VERBUND joined forces to build Austria’s largest photovoltaic plant. The east-west facing solar park, which started operating in December 2020, uses 34,600 PV modules to produce around 10.96 GWh of solar power in the first phase of construction. This reduces emissions by around 8,000 t of CO₂ per year in the first step. This number will increase to 10,000 t once the second construction phase is finalized.

A cornerstone of our climate strategy is increasing the share of low- and zero-carbon products in our product portfolio. Natural gas is the fossil fuel with the lowest carbon intensity and supports the integration of renewable energy into the energy grid. Based on our Upstream production project pipeline, we will increase the share of natural gas in our Upstream portfolio to around 60% by 2025. This reinforces OMV’s strategy of placing the focus on natural gas production rather than oil.

Oil remains a valuable and important raw material which, however, will be refined in petrochemical processes rather than burned as a fuel. OMV focuses on high-quality refinery products such as low-emission premium fuels and feedstocks for the chemical industry. The acquisition of Borealis in 2020 was a key step to transforming our product portfolio with the goal of using our equity oil to produce petrochemicals.

In addition to increasing the share of natural gas and petrochemical products in our portfolio, we also focus on alternative fuels such as hydrogen and electromobility options.

For instance, OMV is currently developing a first-of-its-kind green hydrogen production system based on a 10 MW electrolysis plant at the Schwechat refinery as part of the UpHy project. The electrolysis will be powered by renewable electricity, producing true green, zero-carbon hydrogen. The initial plan is to use the green hydrogen in the refinery in Schwechat for the hydration of vegetable oil and fossil fuels, thereby reducing the CO₂ emitted by up to 15,000 t per year. The second step will be to use the green hydrogen for decarbonizing hard-to-electrify transportation segments like buses and trucks.

In 2020, OMV achieved an outstanding CDP Climate Change score of A– (Leadership) for the fifth time in a row. With its CDP Climate Change score, OMV is among 20 companies in the global oil and gas sector that achieved a leadership score and among the top 5 companies across all sectors in Austria. In addition, the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) has assigned OMV the highest level (Level 4: strategic assessment) rating for carbon management quality.