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VIENNA, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Austrian oil and gas group OMV
aims to reduce its own carbon emissions by trapping
CO2 underground and could offer the same storage solution to
clients, its chief executive said.
Projects in the United States and Norway have shown that
capturing and underground storage of waste carbon dioxide
produced by burning fossil fuels or chemicals, is a safe way to
help fight global warming, CEO Rainer Seele told journalists on
Thursday.
"This is a very important technology for us where we can
make an important contribution... We have several storage sites
that have the right size," the CEO said, adding that several
storages in Austria, including previous natural gas storages,
could be considered.
Fossil fuel companies are seen as a major cause of global
warming as they produce huge amounts of carbon dioxide from
burning oil and have come under increasing pressure from
investors to reduce their CO2 emissions.
Refraining from expanding into renewables like BP and
Royal Dutch Shell, OMV's efforts have been focused on
prioritising gas over oil and the development of a technology
that recycles used plastic and converts it into synthetic crude
oil. The group plans to commercialize the so-called ReOil
technology by 2025.
In total, OMV has the capacity to store several million tons
of carbon dioxide, Seele said. "This could become a potential
business model for OMV."
However, a legal framework is needed to facilitate the
development of such an approach, he said.
Once a reliable framework is in place, OMV could launch its
first carbon storage projects within a few years, Seele said.
(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
