OMV, formerly an abbreviation for Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung Aktiengesellschaft (ÖMV) (), is the major integrated oil- and gas company in Austria with business activities, including fuels & feedstock, petrochemicals, and energy.
The company was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Vienna and trades on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
Today, OMV supports the transition to a lower-carbon economy and has announced plans to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHS) by 2050 for Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement.
In the 2021 Forbes Global 2000, OMV Group was ranked as the 413th largest public company in the world, in 2025 at rank #526. In June 2024, OMV introduced a new corporate identity. The new OMV brand and corporate design was presented as part of the company's Strategy 2030 and is said to reflect OMV's commitment to innovation, responsible transformation, and global impact.
History Founding and Early Years (1956–1987)
OMV Aktiengesellschaft was officially registered on 3 July 1956, succeeding the Soviet Mineral Oil Administration (Sowjetische Mineralölverwaltung, SMV), which had been established in the Soviet occupation zone of post-war Austria. In 1960, the company opened the Schwechat refinery near Vienna, marking its entry into crude oil processing.
In 1968, OMV signed its first natural gas supply contract with the Soviet Union, establishing itself as a key supplier in Central Europe. In 1970, the Adria–Vienna Pipeline (AWP) entered service, creating a crude oil link from the marine terminal at Trieste, Italy to OMV's Schwechat refinery near Vienna. It allows oil supplies to Austria from the Italian oil terminal in Trieste. In May 1974, the Trans‑Austria Gas Pipeline (TAG) natural gas pipeline was commissioned, reinforcing Austria's role as a regional transit corridor.
Privatization and Expansion (1987–2004)
In 1987, OMV became the first Austrian state-owned enterprise to undergo partial privatization when 15% of shares were offered on the Vienna Stock Exchange. In the same year, OMV expanded its refining operations through the acquisition of the Burghausen refinery in Germany.
In June 1990, OMV opened its first retail filling station in Vienna's Auhof area, marking the beginning of downstream retail expansion. The International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi acquired a 19.6% stake in 1994, marking the company's first significant international institutional investor. In 1995, OMV changed its name from "ÖMV" to "OMV" to improve international brand recognition, as the German umlaut was not universally supported. Starting in the early 2000s, OMV pursued a strategy of regional consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe. In 1998, OMV acquired a 25% stake in the plastics group, Borealis.
In 2000, the company acquired approximately 10% of Hungary's MOL Group, and in 2003 OMV acquired the upstream division of Germany's Preussag Energie, significantly expanding its operations. In 2004, OMV completed the acquisition of 51% majority stake in Romanian oil and gas group Petrom for €1.5 billion, at that time the largest transaction in the company's history. The acquisition made OMV the largest oil and gas group in Central Europe, supported by Petrom's substantial upstream and downstream asset base.
International Expansion and Strategic Partnerships (2005–2020)
In 2005, OMV and the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) jointly acquired full control of the Borealis Group, a leading polyolefin producer, after purchasing out other shareholders. In 2006, OMV purchased a 34% stake in Turkey's Petrol Ofisi, expanding its downstream retail presence in a strategic regional market. Later that year, OMV and Verbund, an Austrian energy company, announced merger discussions. The proposed combination faced opposition from the Austrian Parliament, and negotiations were ultimately abandoned in early 2007. OMV increased its stake in Hungarian oil group MOL to 20.2% in 2006. OMV then sold its entire stake in March 2009 after MOL rejected a takeover bid in 2008 and the European Commission imposed tough restrictions for an approval of the deal. In late 2011, OMV acquired the stake held by Dogan Holding in Petrol Ofisi, which increased its stake in the company to 95.75%.
In 2012, gas was discovered in the Domino-1 well in the Romanian Black Sea (exploration license Neptun), making it OMV's most significant gas discovery in that year. On 31 October 2013, OMV completed a US$2.65 billion acquisition of oil and gas production assets and development projects in Norwegian and United Kingdom waters from Norwegian energy company Statoil. The transaction represented the largest acquisition in OMV's history at that time, significantly expanding the company's North Sea operations. It was announced on December 19, 2013, that OMV signed to sell its stake (45%) in Bayernoil to Varo Energy B.V., pending approvals.The sale was closed in June 2014. In 2015 OMV increased its interest in Petrol Ofisi to 100%. Two years later, in 2017, OMV sold Petrol Ofisi to Vitol Group.
Recent Developments (2017–2025) In 2017, OMV, together with ENGIE, Shell, Uniper, and Wintershall, signed financing agreements with Nord Stream 2 AG for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, a 1,200-kilometre offshore pipeline intended to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, OMV suspended its involvement in the project, which remains incomplete as of 2025.
In January 2019, OMV acquired a 50% stake in the Malaysian upstream joint venture SapuraOMV Upstream Sdn. Bhd to Total Energies. In the same month, OMV signed an agreement to acquire a 15% stake in ADNOC Refining in Abu Dhabi.
In March 2020, OMV increased its shareholding in Borealis to 75%, further expanding its chemicals business. At the end of the same year, OMV commissioned Austria's then largest photovoltaic power plant in Schönkirchen, Lower Austria.
On 31 May 2021, Verbund completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in Gas Connect Austria from OMV. On 1 June 2021, Alfred Stern was appointed Chief Executive Officer of OMV. On 8 June 2021, OMV and MOL Group reached an agreement for MOL to acquire OMV Slovenia.
On 5 March 2022, OMV announced that it would no longer pursue investments in Russia. In December 2022, the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) acquired a 24.9% stake in OMV from Mubadala Petroleum and Petrochemicals Holding Company. In December 2023, a decree issued by the Russian government enabled the state seizure of oil and gas assets held by several European energy companies, including OMV's joint interests in the Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas field. OMV subsequently wrote down the value of its Russian assets and exited its remaining operations in the country.
In September 2023, OMV began rolling out a network of electric-vehicle charging stations under the brand name eMotion in several Central and Eastern European countries (Austria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Bulgaria). In November 2023, OMV and Wien Energie established a joint venture to develop deep geothermal energy projects for up to 200,000 households in the greater Vienna area.
In December 2024, OMV terminated its long-term natural gas supply contract with Gazprom Export, citing repeated breaches of contractual obligations. In the same year, it announced the closing of a transaction with TotalEnergies, for the sale of its 50% stake in the Malaysian SapuraOMV Upstream Sdn Bhd. The overall cash consideration was US$957 million.
In March 2025, OMV and ADNOC agreed on the key commercial terms for a combination of their polyolefins businesses. The agreement provides for the merger of OMV's Borealis and ADNOC's Borouge into a jointly controlled company. OMV's production profile is expected to shift from a predominantly European base to a global platform, with around 70% of production located in the Middle East and North America, compared to 60% in Europe previously. In March 2026, OMV and XRG, ADNOC’s international investment arm, announced the formation of Borouge Groupe International AG, to operate under the brand name “Borouge International”. Borouge International has been formed by the combination of Borouge Plc and Borealis, with the new entity acquiring NOVA Chemicals, a North American chemical producer.
In November 2025, OMV AG announced a joint venture with Masdar, the state‑owned renewable energy company of Abu Dhabi, for the development and operation of a green hydrogen electrolyser plant in Bruck an der Leitha, Austria. Under the agreement, the project will be majority-owned by OMV, with Masdar holding a 49% share. The facility is scheduled to start operations in 2027, with a planned electrolysis capacity of 140 megawatts and an annual production of up to 23,000 metric tons of green hydrogen.
In April 2026, Emma Delaney was appointed as CEO and chair of the executive board, starting September 2026.
Finance information
Shareholder structure 2025 ÖBAG (31.5%) ADNOC (24.9%) Free Float (43.4%) Treasury Shares and further (0.2%)
Shareholdings The most important shareholdings of OMV Aktiengesellschaft are listed below, with other shareholdings held by the appropriate business segments: Borealis AG (75%) OMV Petrom SA (51%) ADNOC Refining and ADNOC Global Trading (15%) Central European Gas Hub (65%)
Further Joint Ventures include
project “deeep” with Wien Energie (50%), developing deep geothermal plants in the greater Vienna area. Sorting facility for chemical recycling in Walldürn, Germany with Interzero (89.9%)
Business segments OMV organizes its activities into three business segments: Energy, Fuels and Chemicals.
Energy The Energy segment consists of OMV's exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas, focusing on three core regions including North, Central and Eastern Europe, and South. This includes Gas Marketing & Power business and trading, natural gas and power in several European countries and also includes the liquefied natural gas (LNG) business. Furthermore, OMV holds a 65% stake in the Central European Gas Hub (CEGH) and operates natural gas storage facilities with a capacity of around 30 TWh in Austria and Germany, as well as a gas-fired power plant in Romania. Key areas of activity include:
Geothermal energy: OMV's geothermal energy strategy is to establish a strong position in the geothermal energy sector with a target of approximately 1 TWh of net production output by 2030. An example is OMV's cooperation with Wien Energie on the development of deep geothermal energy projects in the Vienna metropolitan area. The joint venture aims to harness geothermal heat to provide locally produced, low-carbon heat for households and industry. The company plans to deliver 200MW of geothermal energy by 2030, as a local, low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels.
Renewable power: OMV's activities in renewable energy include the development and operation of photovoltaic and wind powered assets to supply renewable electricity for internal consumption and selected external applications. These projects focus on photovoltaic development, Power Purchase Agreements, and ownership to integrate renewables into operations and sales, reducing carbon intensity. This approach contributes to reducing the carbon intensity of OMV's overall energy portfolio.