The Austrians at OMV want to distance themselves from their Russian partners in Gazprom and look for gas from other sources. OMV, still dependent on Gazprom, is changing its gas procurement strategy, especially after Ukrainians from Naftogaz said they would no longer allow transit of Russian gas in a year. Where do the Austrians now want to get provisions from? Although the head of OMV did not mention it, one of the sources of supply could be gas from the Black Sea, which will be used by OMV Petrom and Romgaz.

“The supply of gas from Russia is dangerous and poses a much greater risk than in the past,” Alfred Stern, the head of Austria’s OMV, said on Tuesday, according to BNN Breaking. According to Der Standard, he said other suppliers had been found in Norway and Italy. Long-term contracts for the supply of liquefied gas from the terminal in Rotterdam have also been concluded.

“We have secured through contracts a quantity of non-Russian gas, partly from our own production, partly from contracts with third parties,” said Alfred Stern.

OMV has benefited significantly from high oil and gas prices, and Stern called 2022 “unique and extraordinary.” However, things have changed this year, with the third quarter recording a significant decline in operating levels and net profit. Profit fell by 64% to 431 million euros.

And Romanian gas is in the Austrians’ field of vision

It will be recalled that in mid-September, Alfred Stern visited Bucharest to negotiate with government representatives on amendments to the offshore law. The Austrians asked the Romanian government to have more freedom in exporting gas from the Black Sea to the west. The Offshore Law in its current form prohibits exports.

Officials of the Austrian company OMV could not get the Romanian government to change the offshore law. A government statement showed that Prime Minister Marcel Čolaku told the OMV delegation that he hoped that the attitude of Austrian Prime Minister Karl Nehhammer, who would continue to oppose Romania’s accession to Schengen completely unjustifiably, would not affect the “image of OMV”. Petrom in Romania”.

In exchange for gas export opportunities, OMV offered to abandon the lawsuit opened at the International Court of Arbitration in Paris – ICC against the Romanian state. But, according to HotNews.ro, this is a process with a very low chance of victory on the part of OMV and is only intended to put pressure on the Romanian government.

In June, OMV Petrom filed a lawsuit against the Romanian state at the International Court of Arbitration in Paris (ICC), demanding certain provisions of offshore law that impose certain restrictions on how it can dispose of natural gas production from the Black Sea.

Christina Verchere: We are working full force on the Neptun Deep project

The Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea is progressing according to plan and we will continue to work at full speed to safely start production in early 2027, said Christina Vercere, CEO of OMV Petrom, in an interview with AGERPRES. on Tuesday

She emphasized that the project is at the stage of concluding contracts and obtaining the necessary approvals, and it is being handled by an international team with experience in deep-sea projects.

Transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will be stopped

The Ukrainian company “Naftogaz” will no longer extend the agreement with “Gazprom” on the transit of Russian gas to the European Union after 2024, reports “Ukrainian Pravda” with reference to Radio Liberty. The agreement expires at the end of 2024.

The president of “Naftogaz” accuses Russians in “Gazprom” of non-payments under the contract, which creates financial problems for the Ukrainian company. In addition, the EU plans to completely stop the consumption of Russian gas by 2027, the head of Naftogaz also announced.