Jun 2008 - OPEC

OPEC bulletin 6/08
32
reputable European partners and it’s a very good partnership,”
says Langanger.
Langanger says OMV, together with Occidental, is
planning $5 billion in investments in Libya over the next
few years. But he is careful to note that this investment is
for the re-development of oil fields originally developed
decades ago. Langanger explains that since every five, six
or ten years, there is a new wave of technology, one can
go back and do “more and better” and essentially “revive”
an oil field. “This is what we’re aiming at in this package.”
Country relations
OMV’s portfolio of 21 countries is “a good mixture of OECD
countries and resource-rich countries,” says Langanger.
The diversified nature of the company’s country portfolio
allows it to reduce its exposure to risk in one country or
region of the world. “We are not resting on one pillar, or
on one leg only; we are resting on many, many legs.”
In fact, the question of risk, inherent in the oil business,
is something that brings the classic oilman out in
Langanger. It’s in the nature of the oil business to often
be in difficult areas, he says. “I always tell my Board of
Directors,” says Langanger, with more than a little enthusiasm,
“that I have to go where the oil and gas is. I cannot
go to San Marino and to Andorra, Paris and New York
to dig for oil there!”
It is the skill of an oil company, he adds, to deal with
countries which are partly in difficult situations. In fact,
OMV’s long-term involvement in some of these countries
has provided it with valuable expertise.
It has also provided the company with opportunities
to give something back to their host countries. “It is our
obligation and our duty to train as many locals as possible
and familiarize them with the skills — and the art
— of our business,” says Langanger. It is, he says, after
all, their oil and gas. “OMV is just there on a temporary
basis, as a guest.”