OMV coy on possible upstream/downstream split
The Austrian firm is not ruling anything out ahead of a March strategy update
“I do not want to comment on rumours that were picked up—I do not know how—in the press.” So said Alfred Stern, the relatively new CEO of Austrian oil and gas firm OMV, in response to an early February analyst question on whether the company was considering splitting its upstream and downstream activities into separate concerns. “I would like to reference 16 March, where we will make a presentation of our strategy [and] how we are going to move forward.” The lack of a firm denial may serve only to increase speculation that March’s Capital Markets Day (CMD) will see the Austrian integrated player announce such plans. So will a split occur? “It is a likely scenario,” Tamas Pletser, oil and gas
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution






