In Burgenland, Lower Austria and Vienna, the tank farms have been partially emptied, in Upper Austria and the western federal states the situation is better.
There is “currently no shortage of supplies,” says Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens). So far, OMV has compensated for the losses after the refinery accident, says Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP). According to Gewessler, there are currently no plans to release further oil reserves – but the situation is reassessed every day. It has not been confirmed that Tempo 100 could be imminent on the Autobahn.
Another disturbing piece of news hit the public yesterday: Kazakhstan has been ordered to stop oil exports through a Black Sea terminal at Russian behest. 80 percent of the oil exported from Kazakhstan flows through this terminal in the southern Russian port city of Novorossiysk – Kazakhstan does not have its own access to the world’s oceans. For Austria, the ex-Soviet republic is by far the most important source of oil. In 2020, 36.6 percent of all crude oil imports came from there. According to insiders, oil exports from the terminal of the operator CPC continue to flow despite the court-ordered stop for the oil transit of Kazakh oil to the west.
“If this is a standstill with flimsy justification, that’s another exclamation mark by Putin against Europe,” says Zierhut. Since oil deliveries have a lead time of two to three months, it should be possible to find replacements during this time.
The current energy crisis is a sign of serious upheavals in the logistics chains that were politically caused. Repairing the supply streams takes one to two years, both for oil and natural gas. Therefore, one must start immediately to release in-house production in Austria and to use the possibilities of OMV for gas exploration in Romania. The pipeline that is needed for this will be built in two to three years, says Zierhut.
Source: Nachrichten
