OMV Makes First Oil Discovery in Iran

OMV has made its first oil discovery in Iran's western region of Zagros. OMV (IRAN) onshore Exploration GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of OMV, has completed its first exploration well. This encouraging well is the first drilled by OMV in the "Mehr" exploration block reaching a depth of 4,148 meters. The "Mehr Block" with an area of 2.500 km² is located in the Khuzestan province. Subsequent testing of the reservoir yielded an average flow rate of 1,040 bbl/day of 22 deg API oil. In 2005 OMV plans to drill two more exploration wells on the same block in order to define the size of the oil field.

Helmut Langanger, OMV board member responsible for exploration and production, said: "This discovery provides the basis for further OMV exploration in this oil rich region. This is an encouraging find, underlining the excellent work of our people active in Iran and our use of leading edge exploration technology."

Two more exploration wells planned

OMV, with 34% stake in the Mehr Block, acts as the operator of an international Joint Venture including Repsol YPF and Sipetrol (both 33%), and is looking forward to evaluating the commerciality of the field.

International E&P activities

OMV owns a balanced international E&P portfolio in 18 countries organized around five core regions, namely the Danube and Adriatic, Northern Africa, the British North Sea, the Middle East and Australia/New Zealand. Due to the acquisition of 51% of Petrom, Romania's largest oil company, OMV's daily production volume is approximately 340,000 boe/d, and the company's reserves approximately 1.4 bn boe.

OMV is active in Iran in the Zagros region in the West of the country since 2001. In April 2001 OMV signed a four-year agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) regarding exploration (search for oil and gas deposits) in the Zagros region, one of the world's most promising regions with presumably extensive oil and gas deposits. The work concentrates on the so-called "Mehr Block", an area with a surface of 2,500 square kilometers. OMV is the leader of a consortium also featuring Repsol YPF (Spain) and Sipetrol (Chile), each with a 33% stake. As with all other international E&P activities of OMV, the company successfully relies on state-of-the-art technology. In the field of exploration, OMV's know-how is internationally acknowledged. At present, 33 OMV employees are working for the company in Iran, 6 thereof are Austrians, 3 are expatriates and 24 Iranians.