Home / Europe / Austria / Oil refineries / OMV Schwechat Refinery

OMV Schwechat Refinery

Refinery in Austria. Approximate location 48.14442, 16.49968.

RefineryAustriaCO₂ estimate (modelled)

OMV Schwechat Refinery is a refinery in Austria. Its listed capacity is 204,000 BBL per day. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery. It is operated by OMV AG. It emits about 2,563,595 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 598k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 46% above the national median for this sector.

204,000BBL per day
2,563,595t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#2CO₂ rank in Austria
12.57t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3143736.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityOMV Schwechat Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryAustria Climate TRACE
Coordinates48.14442, 16.49968 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity204,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorOMV AG Climate TRACE
Modelled CO₂e2,563,595 t/yr Climate TRACE
Measured CO₂ cross-check2,579,589 t/yr measured cross-check · EUTL 2023

Calculated from the dataset

Austria rank#2 of 15 · top 13.3% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#108 of 630 · top 17.1% calculated
Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

Fuel typeNot available not in dataset
Thermal capacity (MW)Not available not in dataset

Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.

Similar facilities by modelled emissions

Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.

Operating power plants within 50 km

PowerAtlas operating assets, ordered by great-circle distance from published coordinates.

In context: how this facility compares

At 204,000 BBL per day, OMV Schwechat Refinery is around the median refinery in Austria (204,000 BBL per day). Subsector: oil-and-gas-refining. As refinery, it requires high process heat (typically 200–600°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 2,563,595 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

598kcars driven for a year
334khomes' annual energy use
43 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 2.6M t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), OMV Schwechat Refinery carries €204M/yr of carbon at the full EU ETS price (€79/t CO₂). Free allocation phases out to 2034 (Reg. (EU) 2023/956), so today's bill is lower and rising toward this full-price figure. The fastest decarbonization lever is energy efficiency: eliminating heat loss on hot equipment (removable insulation, steam & waste-heat recovery) typically cuts 2–5% of fuel-related CO₂ — here ≈51k t–128k t/yr, worth €4.1M€10.2M, with payback up to 2 years.

Measured CO₂: 2.6M t/yr — verified EUTL (reporting year 2023) (1% above the modelled estimate). Modelled estimate 2.6M t/yr (Climate TRACE), high-confidence match, cross-checked via the measured-vs-modelled dataset (n=711).

2.6M t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€204M/yrcarbon value · full EU ETS price
51k t–128k t/yr ≈ €4.1M€10.2MDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU ETS €79/t · EU ETS €79/t, July 2, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: measured (EUTL RY2023), cross-checked vs Climate TRACE. Efficiency range: US DOE / ASTM C680 (method). Indicative carbon value, not the cash bill — free allocation applies; not compliance advice. Estimate the saving for this site →

Operator

Operated by OMV AG. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

OMV Schwechat Refinery sits in a temperate oceanic climate zone (Köppen Cfb), at 48.1°N in the northern hemisphere.

~11°Ctypical annual mean
~18°Ctypical warm-season
Temperate oceanic: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
27/100environmental-severity index
20.4°Cseasonal temperature swing
362 kmdistance to coast
LowCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1399 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.08× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1329 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 48.14442, 16.49968. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a refinery, the main modular-insulation targets are crude & vacuum distillation columns, fired heaters, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–550 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 64,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 13,000 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Screening estimate scaled from installed process-heat projects and surface-temperature reduction data.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

Austria: funding & obligation

Funding. Federal environmental support for energy-efficiency & process measures in industry (rates vary by measure). official source · verified 2026
Status: Confirm current call/rates per measure.

Obligation. Large companies (>249 employees OR >EUR 50M turnover OR >EUR 43M balance) must run an energy audit (EN 16247-1) every 4 years OR a certified EnMS (ISO 50001). (applies as a rule above the stated threshold — we do not hold this site's metered energy use). official source · verified 2026

Programme terms verified 2026-06-18; confirm the current open phase before applying. Eligibility depends on a site's energy use / headcount, which we do not hold — not a per-facility eligibility determination.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is OMV Schwechat Refinery?

OMV Schwechat Refinery is a refinery in Austria. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

What capacity is listed for OMV Schwechat Refinery?

The open dataset lists 204,000 BBL per day of capacity for OMV Schwechat Refinery.

How much CO₂ does OMV Schwechat Refinery emit?

The page uses about 2,563,595 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #2 among facilities in Austria by estimated CO₂.

Where is OMV Schwechat Refinery located?

OMV Schwechat Refinery is in Austria at approximately 48.14442, 16.49968.

Who operates OMV Schwechat Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is OMV AG.

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