The Austrian energy group OMV will not withdraw from short-term oil and gas production in the context of the possible embargo on Russian oil and natural gas imposed by the EU, OMV CEO Alfred Stern said in an interview with the daily Kurier on Thursday.

“We will continue to invest heavily in oil and gas until 2030 and develop five new gas production facilities, for example in Norway and the Black Sea, the Neptune project,” said Alfred Stern. “Out of a total of 3.5 billion euro a year, we are investing 1.6 billion euro in exploration and production,” Stern added.

According to the director of OMV, natural gas is a necessary technology for the energy transition. Alfred Stern said that OMV is not currently ready for an embargo on Russian gas and is therefore working on a payment method with Gazprom that respects the sanctions, and on the other hand is working to fill the gas depots.

One week ago, Alfred Stern said that the Neptune Deep project in the Black Sea was playing a central role in the strategy of the Austrian group OMV, but warned that gas production in the Black Sea would begin in five years at the earliest. “The main issue is the tax regime for offshore oil and gas production in the Black Sea. It is important for the project to be economically viable,” said Alfred Stern, according to Agerpres.

Currently, the normative act on amending the Offshore Law has been sent to Parliament for analysis. After the law comes into force, it will take between 9 and 12 months to make a final investment decision. The head of OMV estimates that an investment volume of “less than two billion euro” will be needed. Only four years later will it be able to start gas production in the Black Sea. Alfred Stern explained that in the future Austria will not be able to replace Russian gas with future production in the Black Sea, because this gas will be needed primarily in Romania and Southeast Europe.