OMV Management is of the opinion that litigations, to the extent not covered by provisions or insurance, either do no present an obligation and/or the outflow is remote and/or they will not materially affect the Group’s financial position.
OMV entered into guarantees as part of the ordinary course of the Group’s business, mainly under credit facilities granted by banks, without cash collateral. No material losses are likely to arise from these. Further information on financial guarantees is included in Note 29 – Risk management.
As of December 31, 2024, a proceeding was pending against OMV that related to local service contractors in one of the subsidiaries. OMV’s share of the claimed amount is around USD 300 mn. Management currently does not believe that any of the alleged matters will have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations. However, this assessment is based on assumptions deemed reasonable by management including those about future events and uncertainties. The outcome of these matters is ultimately uncertain, such that unanticipated events and circumstances might occur that might cause management to change these assumptions and give rise to a material adverse effect on the financial position in the future.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions led to gas supply disruptions in Austria, causing significant operational losses for OMV Group due to high natural gas prices and volatility. In January 2023, OMV initiated arbitration at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) under the Austrian supply contract, seeking damages from Gazprom Export LLC (GPE) due to unpredictable deliveries under the Austrian contract expiring in 2040. Following a unilateral full supply cut by GPE on November 16, 2024, OMV terminated the Austrian contract on December 11, 2024 with immediate effect. On December 23, 2024, OMV declared a partial set-off of its open damage claims in the amount of EUR 48 mn against liabilities under the Austrian gas supply contract. However, as the SCC arbitration proceedings were still ongoing as of December 31, 2024, OMV did not consider the gain of such set-off in the Consolidated Income Statement but as a contingent asset in 2024. For further details please refer to Note 37 – Subsequent events.