MOSCOW (MRC) -- Austrian energy and petrochemicals major OMV has appointed Alfred Stern as its new CEO, effective 1 September, said the company in its press release.
Stern, a former CEO of OMV’s Borealis chemicals and plastics business, is currently OMV executive board member with responsibility for Chemicals & Materials. He will be OMV’s CEO for a three-year period, with an extension option for a further two years.
Alfred Stern succeeds Rainer Seele, who will resign “by mutual agreement” on 31 August. Seele is leaving OMV earlier than expected. His current term of office was due to end on 30 June 2022. In April, Seele said he would not seek an extension.
In commenting on the leadership change, OMV supervisory board chairman Mark Garrett said that Stern has the "specialist expertise" and the experience in the chemical industry to lead OMV at a time of "major transformation in the direction of chemicals and a circular economy".
As MRC wrote before, OMV is investing EUR40 million (USD48 million) to expand and modernize a steam cracker and associated units at its refining and petrochemicals complex at Burghausen, Germany. The upgrade will increase the site’s ethylene and propylene production capacity by 50,000 metric tons/year. Following a planned turnaround of the refinery, the revamped cracker and petchem units are expected to start operations in the third quarter of 2022. Initial groundwork is already underway ahead of the upgrade.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
OMV produces and markets oil and gas, innovative energy and high-end petrochemical solutions – in a responsible way. With Group sales of EUR 23 bn and a workforce of around 20,000 employees in 2019, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies.
MRC