OMV Will Keep Refineries Out of Asset Swap
Austrian energy company OMV will exclude its refineries from an asset swap being negotiated with Russia's Gazprom, its chief executive told staff at its main refinery on Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter said.
OMV and Gazprom have for months been working towards a deal under which OMV would take a stake in the Urengoy gas field in Siberia, but no details have emerged on what assets OMV -- central Europe's biggest energy group -- might offer in return.
OMV Chief Executive Rainer Seele told workers at the Schwechat refinery near Vienna not to second-guess the outcome of his visit to St. Petersburg this week.
"Stop speculating," he said in comments first reported by Austrian news agency APA and later confirmed by the person familiar with the matter.
"We will negotiate in a way that ensures the Schwechat refinery is not affected," he said. "We are not seeking collaboration with Gazprom in the refining sector."
The person familiar with the matter went further, saying Seele had ruled it out entirely.
Russia's energy minister has said the swap could include OMV oil and gas fields "in third countries" or infrastructure or energy projects in Austria.
OMV has upstream operations in the North Sea, Romania, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Gabon, Kazakhstan, Namibia and Madagascar, as well as idled operations in Libya and Yemen.
It is in the process of taking over gas trading company EconGas, has a majority stake in the Central European Gas Hub (CEGH) in Austria, owns gas storage facilities in Austria and refineries in Austria, Germany and Romania.
It wants to sell its Petrol Ofisi petrol station business in Turkey and is in the process of selling a minority stake in pipeline grid operator Gas Connect Austria, though it has ruled out Gazprom as a buyer.
(Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich; writing by Francois Murphy)
