Offer from Norway – OMV gas company: Brunner against “sell out”

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According to Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP), the sale of parts of OMV to a Norwegian consortium is “not in line with the objectives of the republic”. The Norwegian consortium could not guarantee the necessary security of supply for the Austrian population, Brunner told journalists on Monday. “That would be a sell-off of the Republic’s family silver and would not improve the status quo,” Brunner said.

The Treasury Secretary had previously described US financial investor Carlyle’s considerations of acquiring much of the oil and gas business of the partially state-owned OMV group as unattractive. Brunner commissioned the state-owned holding company ÖBAG, which owns 31.5 percent of OMV’s shares, to investigate the current and future gas supply situation in Austria. The ÖABG has now completed its analysis and has presented long-term options for action in addition to some short-term measures.

The most obvious option would be to create a government coordinating body for gas procurement, as this is low cost and poses little risk to the state, as the coordinating body does not itself act as a consumer of gas.

Complete gas take-over checked
A complete takeover of the gas procurement by a state-owned company was also investigated – but neither ÖBAG boss Edith Hlawati nor the finance minister can warm to that, because that would also include the republic’s takeover of the gas supply contracts with Gazprom and the risk assumption in gas trading .

In addition, a law would be needed to nationalize OMV’s gas trading subsidiary — and concerns from the European Commission are not unlikely, Brunner said. According to Hlawati, a supply contract for OMV is out of the question because it would conflict with the capital market interests of the other OMV shareholders.

Source: Krone

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