OMV refinery fully operational after repairs following incident

The OMV Schwechat Refinery is now running at full capacity again following an explosion in June.
The alternative supply system, which was used to make up for the production restrictions of the Schwechat Refinery during the repairs, will be maintained as an additional source of supply for as long as necessary.
This will allow reliable supply to the markets in addition to stocks being replenished more quickly.
During the legally required water pressure test as part of the final works on the turnaround of the refinery, damage occurred to the outer skin on the main column of the crude oil distillation unit.
In addition to the 800-strong OMV workforce at the Schwechat site, up to 320 other experts from various partner companies in Austria as well as Europe were deployed to carry out the repair and to guarantee and optimise the partial operation of the refinery.
The affected column is 50 metres high with an average diameter of 8 metres. Extensive dismantling and preparatory work began immediately after the incident along with ordering of materials and prefabrication for the repairs. The 100-ton column head was detached and lifted by a 70-meter-high crane to speed up the dismantling and repair process.
A total of 200 metric tons of steel were processed into replacement parts and assembled and replaced in less than 16 weeks.

At the end of September, the legally required water pressure test on the main column of the crude distillation unit was successfully completed.
After that, the precisely prepared commissioning process was implemented step by step.
“Thanks to the flexibility, the support, the extraordinary commitment of all parties involved, the repair was completed without incident and the markets served by the OMV Schwechat Refinery continued to receive reliable supplies,”said Alfred Stern, chairman of the executive board and CEO of OMV. “I would also like to thank the Austrian Federal Government and the members of the National Council as well as the relevant authorities and ministries in Slovakia and Hungary who helped to bridge bottlenecks and keep supply stable by releasing some of the mandatory emergency reserves.”