Since the war in Ukraine, Europe has worked hard to offset Russian gas and oil from other sources. Since then, domestic sources have increasingly been taken into account. OMV recently started a test well in the Weinviertel.
Since the turn of the year 2022/23, the partially state-owned company OMV has been conducting exploratory drilling in Wittau, Lower Austria. This was preceded by seismological surveys in the years 2017 to 2019 in the Vienna basin and in the Weinviertel, with Wittau proving to be the most hopeful, an OMV spokesperson said today for the “Ö1 Morgenjournal”. The exploratory drilling should now take six months, and a possible promotion could then start in one to two years.
Gas is currently being flared
The OMV spokesperson explains that the gas is currently being flared, saying there are no pipelines to carry it off during the exploratory drilling. This had led to criticism among the Lower Austrian Greens. If it were economically justifiable to pump up but not use 1.3 million cubic meters of gas, energy prices for consumers should be urgently considered, district spokeswoman Beate Kainz recently told “NÖN”.
When does extraction make sense?
The environmental economist Sigrid Stagl sees the efforts to produce their own gas in Austria today in the “Ö1-Morgenjournal” in a differentiated way. If the gas can be extracted quickly – preferably within one to two years – and if this is not at the expense of efforts for the energy transition, extraction is the obvious choice. But you also have to look at the energy used to pump the gas. In any case, if the signal to politicians that enough gas is available after all, it would be “fatal” – gas production should not be left to the economy without regulation.
Fracking “very problematic”
In any case, according to Stagl, fracking is “very problematic”. This is related to the high use of energy and chemicals. ÖVP environmental spokesman Johannes Schmuckenschlager told the Ö1 Morgenjournal that a ban on fracking was unnecessary because it wouldn’t happen anyway.
In an analysis commissioned by Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP), the state holding company ÖBAG, which oversees the federal government’s state holdings, argued that domestic gas production should certainly be maintained, provided it is economically viable.
The federal government disagrees with the ban on fracking
In the federal government, the Greens and the ÖVP had not yet agreed on the fracking ban desired by Minister of the Environment Leonore Gewessler (Greens). The department head has prepared a draft for a cabinet lecture on such a ban, Gewessler’s office said Tuesday at the request of APA. This design is currently under discussion. The ÖVP side was cautious and would not comment on this.
Environmentalists critical
The Green Youth also spoke today. “Since the weekend, people have been fantasizing about drilling for natural gas in Austria again. That would be a nightmare for the climate and our future,” said spokeswoman Rosa Novy.
According to the Federal Geological Survey in Vienna, gas production in Austria is declining. Eight percent of demand is currently covered by domestic production. At the end of the 1970s, four times as much gas was extracted from the ground.
OMV continues to produce significant volumes of gas in Russia
OMV continues to produce significant amounts of gas in Russia, where it has a nearly 25 percent interest in the West Siberian Yuzhno Russkoye gas field. In March 2022, due to the war in Ukraine, OMV announced that it would explore all options for its Russian business, including a sale.
While the German oil and gas group Wintershall Dea – the Germans own 35 percent of Yuzhno Russkoye – has stated that continuing operations in Russia is no longer tenable, OMV has not yet taken a final decision on this. A spokesperson for the company said this on Wednesday at the request of the Reuters news agency.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
