OMV

• ÖBIB, formerly ÖIAG (31.5%)
• IPIC (24.9%)
• Employee share programs (0.4%)
• Treasury Shares (0.3%)
• Free float (42.9%)[10]

The most important shareholdings of OMV Aktiengesellschaft are listed below, with other shareholdings held by the appropriate business segments:[11]

• Borealis AG (36%)
• Gas Connect Austria (51%)
• OMV Petrom SA (51%)

In Upstream, OMV focuses on the exploration, development and production of oil and gas in four core regions, 1) Central and Eastern Europe, 2) the North Sea, 3) the Middle East and Africa, and 4) Russia. At the end of 2016, OMV Upstream was active in 15 countries across the globe and had proven reserves (1P) of 1.03 bn boe and proven and probable reserves (2P) of 1.7 bn boe. The Reserve Replacement Rate (RRR) was 101% in 2016. Daily production was 311 kboe/d in 2016, which equals a total production of 113.8 mn boe. Around 90% of its production in 2016 came from EU/OECD countries. The oil/gas split in production is roughly 50/50.[2]

Downstream Oil operates three refineries: Schwechat (Austria) and Burghausen (Germany), both of which feature with integrated petrochemical production, as well as the Petrobrazi refinery (Romania) which processes predominantly Romanian crude. OMV has an annual refining capacity of 17.8 mn t by the end of 2016. The retail network consists of more than 2,000 filling stations in 10 countries with a strong brand portfolio. Together with a high-quality non-oil retail business (VIVA) and an efficient commercial business, OMV has a leading position in its markets.[2]

In Downstream Gas, the natural gas sales volumes amounted to 109 TWh in 2016. OMV operates a gas pipeline network in Austria and owns gas storage facilities with a capacity of 2.7 bcm (30 TWh). The Central European Gas Hub (CEGH) is a well-established gas trading platform The gas distribution node in Baumgarten is Central Europe's largest entry and gas distribution point for Russian gas. OMV also operates two gas-fired power plants, one in Romania and one Turkey.[2]

In June 2010, the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS)[12] published the report "Unpaid Debt",[13] that called upon the governments of Sweden, Austria, and Malaysia to look into allegations that OMV, Lundin Petroleum, and Petronas may have been complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity whilst operating in Block 5A, South Sudan (then Sudan), during the period 1997-2003. The reported crimes include indiscriminate attacks and intentional targeting of civilians, burning of shelters, pillage, destruction of objects necessary for survival, unlawful killing of civilians, rape of women, abduction of children, torture, and forced displacement. When the consortium that OMV took part in operated in Block 5A, approximately 12,000 people died and 160,000 were violently displaced from their land and homes, many forever. Satellite pictures taken between 1994 and 2003 show that the activities of OMV in Sudan coincided with a spectacular drop in agricultural land use in its concession area.[14]

In June 2010, the Swedish public prosecutor for international crimes opened a criminal investigation into links between Sweden and the reported crimes. In 2016, Lundin Petroleum's Chairman Ian Lundin and CEO Alex Schneiter were informed that they were the suspects of the investigation. Sweden's Government gave the green light for the Public Prosecutor in October 2018 to indict the two top executives[15] On 1 November 2018, the Swedish Prosecution Authority notified Lundin Petroleum AB that the company may be liable to a corporate fine and forfeiture of economic benefits of SEK 3,285 (app. €315 million) for involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity.[16] Consequently, the company itself will also be charged, albeit indirectly, and will be legally represented in court. On 15 November 2018 the suspects were served with the draft charges and the case files.[17] They will be indicted for aiding and abetting international crimes and may face life imprisonment if found guilty.[18] The trial is likely to open in the Autumn of 2020 and may take two years.

The Swedish war crimes investigation raises the issue of access to remedy and reparation for victims of human rights violations linked with business activities. In May 2016, representatives of communities in Block 5A claimed their right to remedy and reparation and called upon OMV and its shareholders to pay off their debt to them.[19] A conviction in Sweden may provide some level of remedy and reparation for the few victims of human rights violations who will testify in court, but not for the other 200,000 victims who will not be represented in court. The Swedish court cannot impose obligations upon OMV.

On 23 May 2019, the T.M.C. Asser Institute for International Law in The Hague organized the conference 'Towards criminal liability of corporations for human rights violations: The Lundin case in Sweden'.[20]

OMV endorses the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, acknowledging the duty of business enterprises to contribute to effective remedy of adverse impact that it has caused or contributed to.[21] The company has never publicly showed an interest in the adverse impacts of its activities on the communities in its concession area. According to the Dutch peace organisation PAX, the companies OMV, Lundin Petroleum, Petronas, as well as their shareholders are disregarding the human rights standards that they claim to respect, notably the OECD Guidelines and UN Guiding Principles, because they, A. never conducted an appropriate due diligence for their Sudanese operations; B. made no effort to know their human rights impacts; and C. do not show how they address alleged adverse human rights impacts.[22]

OMV (Sudan) Exploration GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of OMV AG, held a 26.1% share in the consortium that acquired the right to explore and develop oil deposits in Block 5A. It sold its Sudanese assets in 2004 with a net profit of $55 million.[23] As the operator of the consortium, Lundin Petroleum was responsible for day-to-day management but its managers stood under the supervision of the Operating Committee, that exercised "overall direction and control of all matters pertaining to the Joint Operations and the Joint Property". OMV was permanently represented in the Operating Committee and has never publicly distanced itself from any of its decisions.[24]

Between 2001 and 2003, OMV met repeatedly with European human rights advocates led by Sudan Platform Austria, but the company took no effective measures to prevent involvement in human rights violations or undo the adverse impact of its consortium's operations. On April 6, 2001, OMV wrote to Human Rights Watch: “We have reached the conclusion that, despite problems, the influx of oil revenues could improve the social and humanitarian conditions of the Sudanese. Oil exploration activities also represent immediate benefits to the local population, in terms of employment, infrastructure developments and humanitarian assistance... Our role is to constantly monitor the situation on the ground and to turn our perception of business ethics into reality by responsible action.[25] In 2002, OMV nevertheless commissioned an independent report on the human rights situation in Block 5A, that has not been made public.[26]

OMV was a loyal participant in the consortium that operated in Block 5A and had a substantial say in the way it operated. The suspicions against the consortium's top managers therefore also concern OMV. The Austrian State's owns 31% of OMV's shares. According to the UN Guiding Principles, which is endorsed by Austria, an abuse of human rights by a business enterprise that is wholly or partially controlled by a State, may entail a violation of that State's own international law obligations.[27]

The acquisition of 51% stake in Petrom was considered controversial as the privatisation contract was not made public and it consists of several disputed clauses.

The privatisation allegedly produced a market monopoly. Critics say that OMV can use the resources Petrom owns until their exhaustion. Also fixing of tax for gas and oil exploration at 3 to 13.5 percent from the final delivery price for 10 years was criticised. Some critics claimed, that the price €1.5 billion was too low.

In June 2007 OMV made an unsolicited bid to take over MOL, which was rejected by the Hungarian company. MOL criticised OMV's advertisement in which OMV had suggested the two had already worked together on the European market. MOL thought that to be misleading and unethical and asked OMV to remove the name MOL from those advertisements. OMV dismissed its bid after negative results of the investigation by the European competition authorities.[28][29] OMV sold its entire stake to Surgutneftegas in March 2009.[30]

On 10 April 2019 OMV announced that it would drill up to ten wells off the Otago, New Zealand coast.[31] The decision was met with indications by local environmental groups, who had successfully fought previous attempts to drill for fossil fuels in the area, that OMV could "expect resistance".[32] In November 2019 an OMV supply vessel in Timaru was occupied for 57 hours by 27 protesters, and 16 people were arrested.[33] In March 2020 two members of Extinction Rebellion Ōtautahi intercepted and boarded an OMV mobile drilling rig in the Marlborough Sounds from an inflatable boat, intending to occupy it for a week, but their equipment was confiscated by crew and they abandoned the occupation after 14 hours. They were flown to New Plymouth and served with a trespass notice.[34][35]