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euro adhoc: OMV Aktiengesellschaft
OMV: Schwechat set to become one of the leading locations in European plastics industry (E)

Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is
responsible for the content of this announcement.
• EUR 200 million for extension of ethylene and propylene production
• Increase of capacity to 900,000 tons per year by 2006
• Petrochemicals add value to the business
• Synergies through integration with Borealis
OMV, Central and Eastern Europe’s leading oil and natural gas group,
today announces the planned extension of the petrochemicals capacity
at its refinery in Schwechat. Approximately EUR 200 million (mn) will
be invested to increase ethylene and propylene production, upgrading
the overall capacity from 650,000 to 900,000 tons (t) per year. The
extended facilities will be completed in autumn 2005. At the same
time Borealis, one of the world’s leading plastics manufacturers,
will also increase its capacity in Schwechat to approximately 1 mn t
per year, thus putting Schwechat firmly on the map of leading
locations in the European plastics industry.
The extension of the petrochemicals and plastics production capacity
in Schwechat, a joint project with Borealis, will be a significant
boost for OMV’s value added chain in production. Gerhard Roiss,
Deputy CEO of OMV, comments: "The overall joint investment by OMV and
Borealis in Schwechat will amount to approximately EUR 400 mn, the
largest single investment ever made in that location. This will both
strengthen and consolidate the competitive position of Schwechat as a
petrochemicals centre. From 2006 Schwechat will be one of the leading
locations in the European petrochemicals industry, with about 900,000
t per year production for OMV and almost 1 mn t per year production
for Borealis."
Gerhard Roiss commented: "This investment is deliberately being made
when the plastics industry is at the bottom of its economic cycle in
order to benefit from an expected upturn in 2005/06. An increasing
demand for plastics is already becoming evident in Asia. This trend
is expected to accelerate in that region and to start impacting
Europe in the second half of 2003".
Modern facility to increase value added products
The EUR 200 mn investment in Schwechat will be used to upgrade
cracker facilities required for the production of ethylene and
propylene. These basic petrochemical products are used in
manufacturing high-quality plastics. OMV will extend its ethylene
capacity by 150,000 t to approximately 500,000 t per year and its
propylene capacity by 100,000 t to approximately 400,000 t per year.
The facilities are scheduled to run at full production capacity from
January 1, 2006. The majority of the petrochemicals manufactured by
OMV in its refinery in Schwechat are delivered by pipeline to the
neighbouring Borealis plant as an input material for its polyethylene
and polypropylene production.
Synergies between OMV and Borealis
The plastics activities of Borealis, which is 50% owned by OMV and
IPIC, are an integral part of OMV’s petrochemicals chain. In 2002,
the OMV Group sold approximately 1.1 mn t of ethylene and propylene,
of which 650,000 t was produced in Schwechat. Covering 27% of
Borealis’ petrochemicals demand in Schwechat and Burghausen, OMV is
the largest monomer supplier for Borealis. By 2005, Borealis will
extend its polyolefin capacities in Schwechat by approximately
250,000 t per year. The construction of a new Borealis polyethylene
plant and the extension of a polypropylene plant will bring the
Company’s total production capacity to about 1 mn t per year.
Notes to editors:
Monomers and plastics:
The most important applications for polyethylene (feedstock is
ethylene) are plastic sheets, storage and transport containers.
Polypropylene (PP) with propylene as the input material is used to
manufacture packaging materials and textiles. An alternative
application of polypropylene is the automotive industry, where PP is
found in bumpers and fittings.
OMV Aktiengesellschaft 
OMV Aktiengesellschaft, with Group sales of EUR 7.08 billion and
5,828 employees in 2002, and a current market capitalization of EUR
2.8 billion, is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies.
As the leading oil and gas company in Central and Eastern Europe, the
OMV Group is active in 12 of these countries in its Refining and
Marketing (R & M) business, and has set a goal of doubling its market
share in the area to 20% by 2008. OMV is now involved in
international exploration and production activities (E & P) in 17
countries. The Group operates integrated chemical manufacturing
plants. In addition, it holds a 25% stake in Borealis A/S, one of the
world’s leading manufacturers of polyolefins, a 45% stake in the
BAYERNOIL refinery network, a stake of approximately 9% in the
Hungarian petroleum company MOL, and a 25.1% stake in The Rompetrol
Group NV, the largest private oil company in Romania.
Borealis
Borealis is a leading supplier of high-quality polyolefin plastics -
polyethylene and polypropylene - producing over 3.5 million tons of
these plastics per year.  The Borealis head office is in Denmark and
the Group has manufacturing sites and operations in Austria, Belgium,
Brazil, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, the United
Arab Emirates and the USA. Customer Services Centres are located in
Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden.
Borealis is owned 50% by the Norwegian oil company Statoil, 25% by
IPIC, the International Petroleum Investment Company of Abu Dhabi,
and 25% by OMV, the Austrian oil and gas group.
end of announcement        euro adhoc 01.07.2003

Further inquiry note:

OMV Investor Relations: Brigitte H. Juen Tel. +43 1 404 40-21622; e-mail:
investor.relations@omv.com Presse/Press: Bernhard Hudik Tel. +43 1 404 40-21660; e-mail: bernhard.hudik@omv.com
Thomas Huemer Tel. +43 1 404 40-21660; e-mail: thomas.huemer@omv.com Internet Homepage:
http://www.omv.com

Branche: Oil & Gas - Downstream activities
ISIN: AT0000743059
WKN: 074305
Index: ATX, ATX Prime
Börsen: Bayerische Börse / official dealing
Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse / official dealing
Wiener Börse AG / official dealing
London Stock Exchange / official dealing

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