After the serious accident, the OMV refinery in Schwechat is currently only running at one fifth of its capacity. The state oil, gas and chemical company is preparing for a longer repair time and is currently working on an alternative supply system, CEO Alfred Stern confirmed on Wednesday. However, thanks to a smaller system, production does not come to a complete standstill. One consequence of the accident was bottlenecks in kerosene at Vienna airport.
It is not yet clear when the main distillation plant, which was badly damaged during a pressure test at the end of a general overhaul and has not yet been commissioned, can be restarted at full capacity, Stern told Reuters news agency. Wednesday. The plant’s total daily capacity averages 200,000 barrels (23.47 million liters) per day.
Repair takes “at least a few weeks”
The repair will “in any case” take several weeks. “We don’t have a final inventory yet,” Stern said. The OMV boss hopes to have more clarity in the course of next week. A large team, a three-digit number of people, is currently checking the system, which consists of a 40-meter tower with a diameter of 8.5 meters.
Airlines have to refuel abroad
At the same time, the group is working on setting up an alternative supply system. “At least for June we have secured the supply situation,” Stern said. As a precaution, the nearby airport in Vienna, which is supplied by OMV, has also been informed about the bottlenecks in kerosene. The airlines, including Austrian Airlines, which is owned by Lufthansa, were asked to refuel before returning to Austria “to reduce demand and alleviate the situation,” Stern said.
In addition to the diesel and petrol reserves released by Austria, efforts are underway to obtain products from the group’s two refineries in Burghausen in Germany and Petrobrazi in Romania. “The refinery has been shut down for the general overhaul since April 19. At that time, you live off the supplies and they were almost exhausted, so it was necessary to actually use some of the supplies,” Stern said. At the moment it is also being examined whether products can be imported into Slovenia via Trieste or Koper. The manager is not yet able to make any statements about the extent of the damage. However, the costs would be partly covered by insurance, “so that the financial damage is limited”.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
