Our history and heritage – more than 60 years of OMV
OMV traces its origins back to the period of the Austrian State Treaty of 1955, which re-established the country’s independence. Established in 1956, Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung Aktiengesellschaft, later known simply as OMV, took on responsibility for the nation's oil and gas activities, including production, processing, and distribution.
Today, with over six decades of growth, innovation, and expansion behind us, we stand ready for what’s ahead. Our journey is only just beginning.
2020 – Present
- 2024: Divestment of shares in SapuraOMV, Malaysia
- 2023: Divestment of OMV Slovenia, including gas stations and wholesale business
- 2022: Decision to pull out of Russian market due to the war in Ukraine
- 2022: Divestment of German gas station network
- 2022: OMV embarks on its biggest transformation since its founding with the launch of the 2030 Strategy
- 2020: Shareholding in Borealis increases to 75%
2010 – 2019
- 2019: Acquisition of a 15% stake in ADNOC Refining, UAE, and a 50% stake in SapuraOMV Upstream, Malaysia
- 2018: Securing of a 20% stake in Abu Dhabi’s SARB and the Umm Lulu poli fields.
- 2018: Signing of a Basic Sale Agreement with Gazprom for a potential 24.98% stake in Achimov 4A/5A
- 2018: Acquisition of Shell’s upstream business in New Zealand
- 2017: Acquisition of a 24.99% stake in the Yushno Russkoje gas field in West Siberia.
- 2016: Agreement is reached with Gazprom on strategic cooperation, including an asset swap
- 2013: Purchase of shares in North Sea, Norway assets from Statoil
- 2012: ReOil® patent application
2000 – 2009
- 2004: Acquisition of a 51% majority stake in Romanian oil and gas group, Petrom
- 2003: Founding of the Central European Gas Hub
- 2003: Austria's biggest oil find in 25 years: 4.5 billion barrels of oil equivalents in the Vienna Basin
1990 – 1999
- 1998: Acquisition of a 25% stake in Borealis
- 1995: Official rebranding as OMV
- 1994: IPIC is welcomed as a shareholder with a 19.6% stake
- 1991: Opening of gas stations in south-eastern Europe
- 1990: Diversification into chemicals with the acquisition of Chemie Linz Group
- 1990: Opening of the first ÖMV gas station in Vienna's Auhof area, Austria
1980 – 1989
- 1989: The company’s privatization continues with an additional 10% share release
- 1987: Acquisition of the Burghausen refinery in Germany
- 1987: First step towards privatization with a 15% public sharing offering
- 1985: The company’s first international oil production begins in Libya
- 1984: Introduction of Austria’s first unleaded gasoline
- 1983: Austria’s deepest drilling takes place at Zistersdorf Übertief 2a —at 8,553 meters, it is the deepest drilling operation in Europe at the time
- 1980: The West Austria Gas Pipeline becomes operational, connecting the Austrian natural gas hub at Baumgarten an der March, near the Slovakian border, with Oberkappel, on the German border.
1970 – 1979
- 1974: The Trans-Austria gas pipeline becomes operational, connecting the Austrian natural gas hub at Baumgarten an der March, near the Slovakian border, to Arnoldstein in the south, near the Italian border.
- 1974: Development of Europe’s first gas storage
- 1970: The Adria-Vienna pipeline becomes operational, establishing a direct supply route from the oil terminal in Trieste, Italy, to Vienna.
1960 – 1969
- 1968: The first natural gas contract is secured with the USSR
- 1965: Integration of the first sales organization (Martha and ÖRÖP) with the Aral and Elan brands
- 1960: The Schwechat refinery in Austria becomes operational
1956 – 1959
- 1957: The Auersthal and Baumgarten natural gas extraction stations begin operating in Austria
- 1956: The company is founded on 3 July as Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung Aktiengesellschaft