Gazprom, OMV, Montanuniversität Leoben and Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas sign Agreement for scientific & technical cooperation and partnership
News Release, October 4, 2016 - 05:10 pm (CEST)
A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Rainer Seele, Chairman of the OMV Executive Board, took place today at the 6th St. Petersburg International Gas Forum.
The parties discussed further cooperation, focusing in particular on Russian gas supplies to Austria and the possible asset swap.
The Agreement for scientific & technical cooperation and partnership between Gazprom, OMV, Montanuniversität Leoben, and the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas was inked in the presence of Alexey Miller and Rainer Seele.
The document was signed by Oleg Aksyutin, Member of the Management Committee and Department Head at Gazprom, Johann Pleininger, Member of the Executive Board at OMV responsible for Upstream, Prof. Gerhard Thonhauser, Department Head at Montanuniversität Leoben and Prof. Viktor Martynov, Member of the Gazprom Board of Directors and Rector of Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas.
According to the document, the parties have agreed to implement research cooperations in a number of key areas, such as efficient drilling technologies, saving energy and environmental protection, as well as innovation and R&D management. In addition, the universities will cooperate in the form of a double degree study program with the support of the industry partners.
The Agreement will contribute to the companies’ performance in science and technology by involving scientific and educational capacities of the leading specialized universities under joint programs and projects.
Background information:
OMV is Gazprom’s main partner in Austria.
On September 4 2015, Gazprom and OMV signed the Term Sheet regarding an asset swap. If the deal is completed, OMV will acquire a 24.98 per cent stake in the project for developing Blocks 4A and 5A of the Achimov deposits at the Urengoyskoye oil, gas and condensate field in exchange for Gazprom's participation in OMV assets. On April 1 2016, Gazprom and OMV signed the second Term Sheet regarding an asset swap. The document specifies, inter alia, the assets to be provided by OMV.
In September 2015, the companies inked the Agreement for scientific & technical cooperation and partnership. In June 2016, Gazprom and OMV signed the 2016–2020 Program for scientific & technical cooperation and partnership.
In 2015, Russian gas exports to Austria grew by 11.5 per cent compared to 2014 (from 3.9 to 4.4 billion cubic meters).