Page 6 - EurOil Week 06 2021

EurOil COMMENTARY EurOil

OMV announces further

divestment targets

OMV is already at the halfway point in its €2bn divestment programme

AUSTRIA OMV has unveiled plans to sell its fuel retail Eurotrack, Avanti and Diskont brands. These
network in Slovenia and its European nitrogen assets offer little in synergy with the rest of its
WHAT: business, as part of its €2bn ($2.4bn) divestment downstream operations, making them a natural
OMV has announced programme. choice for sale.
plans to sell its Slovenian The Austrian oil firm announced the pro- Meanwhile, OMV’s Borealis subsidiary has
fuel retail network and gramme in March, aiming to deleverage its launched the sales process for its nitrogen busi-
its European nitrogen debts, which have grown following the $4.7bn ness unit, including fertiliser, technical nitrogen
business. purchase of an extra 39% stake in petrochem- and melamine operations. Its fertiliser produc-
icals producer Borealis, which was closed last tion plants are situated in Austria and France,
WHY: October. It has already made significant pro- and via a network of 60 warehouses across
The Austrian company gress, having cut deals for the sale of over €1bn Europe they supply the continent with 5mn
is looking to reduce its of assets. tonnes per year (tpy) of products. The divest-
leverage to around 30% OMV is set to offload its 51% position in gas ment plan does not include Borealis’ fertiliser
by year-end. logistics firm Gas Connect Austria to Austria’s production plants in the Netherlands and Bel-
biggest power firm, Verbund. The buyer will pay gium, however. But it does cover Borealis’ mela-
WHAT NEXT: OMV €271mn, while also assuming Gas Con- mine plants in Austria and Germany.
OMV is shifting its nect’s liabilities to OMV worth €166mn at the “We are well on our way to deliver on our
focus toward gas and end of 2019. decisive disposal programme, and with this
petrochemicals and OMV went on to agree the sale of a network second divestment package OMV is taking
away from oil. A planned of 285 filling stations in southern Germany to another big step toward fulfilling our promise to
expansion in Siberia has UK fuel retailer EG Group in December for deleverage quickly,” CEO Rainer Seele said in a
seen further delays. €485mn. Later that month, its Romanian arm statement.
OMV Petrom struck a third deal to sell 100% OMV will announce a third package of sales
interests in upstream subsidiaries Kom-Munai later this year, as it works towards reducing its
and Tashbulat Oil in Kazakhstan, marking its leverage to around 30% by the end of 2021.
withdrawal from the Central Asian country. The OMV’s M&A activities are also part of a stra-
buyer is a private firm based in Nur-Sultan called tegic shift. Many of the world’s leading oil and gas
Magnetic Oil. producers are adapting to the energy transition
All three transactions are due to be closed this by stepping up investment in renewables, but
year, OMV said, subject to regulatory approvals. OMV has bucked the trend by expanding its pet-
OMV now has further divestments in mind. rochemicals business. It also wants to increase
In a statement on February 4, the company its focus on natural gas while scaling back in oil,
revealed it was seeking a buyer for the 120 filling given the former’s stronger growth potential and
stations it operates in Slovenia under the OMV, smaller environmental impact.

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