• Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and OMV CEO Rainer Seele in Energy Talk at Vienna's Hofburg Palace
  • Norway and Russia are the most secure and reliable energy partners for Europe
  • OMV invests in stability and security of supply

Former Chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schröder, was in Vienna today at the invitation of OMV to discuss the current geopolitical challenges and the future of Europe's energy markets with OMV CEO Rainer Seele and around 350 guests in Vienna´s Hofburg Palace.

Gerhard Schröder started out by giving his insight into the issues facing Europe, such as the refugee crisis, whereby he called for 'asylum routes which are safe and can be monitored', as well as 'closer cooperation with Turkey'. He also said that Turkey needs a genuine prospect of EU membership.

Turning to energy, both Gerhard Schröder and Rainer Seele underlined the importance of good relations between Europe and Russia: 'Russia plays a central role in the question of how we Europeans can secure our energy supply. Norway and Russia are the most secure and reliable energy partners for Europe', said the former German Chancellor.

In recent weeks OMV has taken several steps to intensify its partnership with Russia´s Gazprom. OMV and Gazprom signed a Shareholders' Agreement at the beginning of September for OMV involvement in extending Nord Stream. OMV will also participate in developing the Achimov 4 and 5 natural gas projects in Siberia. On 23 October a Memorandum of Understanding on the planned oil supplies was signed. OMV CEO Rainer Seele speaking in Hofburg Palace, Vienna, on his Russia strategy: 'OMV is striving to contribute to stability. We stand for security of supply of oil and gas. Security of supply means finding partners, achieving broad diversification and overcoming barriers. Security of supply also means investments such as those in the Nord Stream II pipeline project.'

Gerhard Schröder supports the role of OMV: 'I believe OMV's strategy of engaging in Russia is correct - both in terms of the planned construction of the Nord Stream II pipeline as well as gas exploration in Siberia. This engagement is completely in the spirit of longstanding close Austro-Russian cooperation in the energy sector. As Europeans we need to establish deeper economic and political ties with Russia.'

OMV has had an ongoing agreement with Gazprom since 1968 to supply natural gas to Austria and Europe. Gerhard Schröder has been the Chairman of the Board of the European-Russian consortium Nord Stream AG since 2006; he was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005.

Background information:

OMV Aktiengesellschaft
 With Group sales of EUR 36 bn and a workforce of around 25,500 employees in 2014, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria's largest listed industrial companies. In Upstream, OMV has a strong base in Romania and Austria and a balanced international portfolio. 2014 daily production stood at approximately 309,000 boe/d. In Downstream, OMV has an annual refining capacity of 17.8 mn tonnes and approximately 4,100 filling stations in 11 countries as of end of 2014. OMV operates a gas pipeline network in Austria and gas storage facilities in Austria and Germany. In 2014, gas sales volumes amounted to 114 TWh.

For further information, please contact:

OMV Media Relations:
Johannes Vetter, Tel.: +43 1 40440 22729, e-mail: johannes.vetter@omv.com
Robert Lechner, Tel.: +43 1 40440 21472, e-mail: robert.lechner@omv.com

OMV Investor Relations:
Felix Rüsch, Tel.: +43 1 40440 21600, e-mail: investor.relations@omv.com
Web: http://www.omv.com

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