By Shadia Nasralla and Kirsti Knolle
The strategy seems to be working. OMV has outperformedpeers, with its shares up about 25 percent in the past 12 monthsagainst a 1.8 percent drop in the sector. Over two years, thegap widens, with OMV up 85 percent and the sector up 13 percent.
Presenting its new targets to 2025 in
"We will not engage in renewables. It's not part of ourstrategy. I cannot do everything," he said, outlining OMV's
Seele's comments come as other European energy companiessuch as Shell, BP Plc, Total SA andStatoil are becoming increasingly active in greenenergy, seeking to position themselves for the future.
Shell alone has spent
Gas, the least polluting fossil fuel, is widely expected tobe crucial for reducing emissions.
OMV is aiming for the gas part of its portfolio to grow toup to 60 percent of the total by 2025, from just under half.Overall output is expected to almost double between 2015 and2025 to 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Seele's predecessor had bet on North Sea production, whereother producers such as Premier are looking at costs ofup to
This allows OMV to target costs at around
On that basis, OMV plans to keep or raise its dividend. Itproposed its highest ever payout of
By comparison, BP needs a price of at least
"OMV's new growth strategy is encouraging despite some boldambitions for profitable growth to 2025," Jefferies, whichreaffirmed its buy rating on OMV shares, said in a note.
"The sustainable organic (free cash flow) yield (of around10 percent) to 2020 is one of the main attractions to thisstock," it said, pointing to peers on below 7 percent.(Editing by Mark Potter)