OMV, Transpetrol to construct Slovakia-Austria oil pipeline

Austria's OMV AG and Slovakian state pipeline company Transpetrol, now 49% owned by Yukos Oil Co., jointly agreed to construct and operate a 60 km crude oil pipeline from the Bratislava refinery in Slovakia to OMV's 180,000-b/d Schwechat refinery near Vienna.
Dec. 23, 2003
2 min read

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Dec. 23 -- Austria's OMV AG and Slovakian state pipeline company Transpetrol, now 49% owned by Yukos Oil Co., signed an agreement Monday to jointly construct and operate a 60 km crude oil pipeline from the 115,000-b/d Bratislava refinery in Slovakia to OMV's 180,000-b/d Schwechat refinery near Vienna, currently supplied via pipeline from Italy.

The proposed $30-million pipeline will have an initial capacity of 72,000 b/d, potentially rising to 100,000 b/d with installation of additional pumping stations. Pipeline construction is slated to begin by yearend 2004.

In a related contract, Yukos pledged to supply OMV's refinery with as much as 100,000 b/d of Urals crude for an initial period of 10 years, starting with 40,000 b/d in January 2006 (OGJ, Oct. 6, 2003, p. 62). Crude oil prices will be in line with existing oil supply contracts between Yukos and other area refineries, the companies said in a joint news release.

"Thanks to this contract, we will be able to directly supply our Schwechat refinery with Russian oil in addition to the Adria-Vienna Pipeline," said Gerhard Roiss, OMV deputy CEO responsible for refining and marketing. "This supply diversification will also generate cost benefits with respect to both products and logistics."

Sign up for Oil & Gas Journal Newsletters