OMV says petrochemical plant at Schwechat refinery near Vienna has broken down
The petrochemical plant at Austrian oil and gas firm OMV's Schwechat refinery near the Vienna, Austria airport broke down on Tuesday, causing it to switch to high-flare operations that alarmed passersby and prompted calls to the fire brigade.
Schwechat is OMV's biggest refinery and the company describes it as one of the biggest in Europe, with a capacity of 9.6 metric MMtpy of crude oil. Petrochemicals firm Borealis, which is partly owned by OMV and going through a merger, has its own production site adjoining the refinery.
"On 15 April 2025 at 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT), the petrochemical plant at the Schwechat refinery broke down," OMV said in a statement. "High-flare operation was immediately started in accordance with all necessary safety precautions. We are currently working intensively to resume operations at the plant," OMV said, adding that running high flares was "a routine process."
Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman for the fire brigade in Lower Austria, the state surrounding Vienna, said it had received an alert about a possible fire at the refinery, without saying from whom. A passerby informed media earlier on Tuesday that there were unusually tall flames at the refinery.
The fire brigade spokesman later said it was a false alarm due to flaring at the plant.
Borealis was not immediately available for comment.
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