The EU has taken a leading role in global climate policy and has committed itself to reduce green house gases by 8%. As part of the burden sharing process Austria has set its target to a reduction of 13%. More than two thirds of Austrian CO2 emissions are a consequence of using crude oil derivatives and natural gas; therefore any legal measure to reduce CO2 will directly effect the business of OMV.
Schwechat refinery that has developed into a fairly complex inland refinery had undergone a restructuring effort recently to reduce operating costs as well as to reduce emissions. The Auto Oil 2 measures, which are implemented now, will, however, increase the CO2 emissions by about 190 kt/yr or 7%. Residue upgrading regimes will be needed soon and will, depending on the technology, increase the local refinery CO2 emissions dramatically by up to 30%.
While the increase of the emissions seems inevitable, a significant reduction of emissions is laborious.
Several measures and pathways have been prepared in order to reduce emissions. A total site heat integration project as well as gas turbines heat integrated in process units will help to compensate the increase and to maintain approximately the same CO2 level as today.
The OMV Group, though by international standards only a fairly small company, plays a leading role in Austria's industrial life. OMV operates a complete value added product chain from exploration for and production of crude oil and natural gas, through processing, refining and marketing as well as chemical and petrochemical plants.
OMV runs two refineries with a total capacity of 270,000 bpsd - Schwechat, Austria, with 208,000 bpsd and Burghausen, Germany, with 72,000 bpsd. Schwechat refinery was commissioned in 1960 and has undergone continuous expansion and development and thus become a fairly complex inland refinery. The processing scheme includes besides crude-, vacuum-, reformer- and HDS units several conversion units - FCCU, VGO moderate pressure hydrocracker (MPHC), catalytic dewaxing unit (Unicracking/DW) and visbreaker. A steam cracker and downstream units for the C4-cut are fully integrated in the refinery scheme. The refinery is completely energy self-sufficient.
The 72,000 bpsd Burghausen refinery in Bavaria was built in 1967 and is a major producer of petrochemicals and middle distillates in southern Germany. The main units besides the crude and HDS units are a steam cracker including a benzene extraction unit and a delayed coker, which produces anode grade coke.
Most of the monomers produced at both refineries are fed to Borealis sites, as OMV itself has a 25% share in Borealis.
Austrian landscapes as well as the many historical sites attract each year a lot of tourists. Schwechat refinery is located just a few km outside of Vienna. Therefore responsible care for the environment BLOCK 2 - - FORUM 12 431 AN EMMIS