OMV (Vienna; www.omv.com) has announced that it is in exclusive negotiations with the recycling unit of Alba (Berlin; www.alba.info) to build an “innovative” plant for sorting mixed plastics waste for chemical recycling in Walldürn, Germany.

An investment decision on the deal is expected this year, the company said, noting that the sorting capacity at the plant is expected to exceed 200,000 t/y.

“The collaboration will secure the delivery of high-quality suitable feedstock for chemical recycling from Alba Recycling to OMV to help close the loop for plastics,” the Austrian firm said, noting that the output from the chemical reclaim system would be used to make virgin polyolefins. OMV is the parent of resin maker Borealis (Vienna; www.borealisgroup.com).

OMV said it has been operating a pilot plant using its Reoil chemical recycling technology at its Schwechat-based refinery in Austria since 2018, and the line can turn 100 kg of used plastics into 100 liters of synthetic feedstock per hour. The company said it has taken the final investment decision for a scaled-up demo plant with a capacity of 16,000 t/y, which is set to start operations in 2023. Its goal is to establish a commercially viable, industrial-scale plant by 2026, the company said (see Plasteurope.com of 05.01.2022).

OMV said it is “reevaluating its engagement in Russia. While Russia has been one of the core regions in OMV’s exploration and production portfolio, the executive board has taken the decision not to pursue any future investments in Russia.”

The company announced that it has already ended all negotiations with Russian state energy giant Gazprom (Moscow; www.gazprom.com) about the potential purchase of a nearly 25% stake in blocks 4A/5A of the Achimov-Formation in the Urengoy gas and condensate field, adding that the basic sale agreement from 3 October 2018 has been cancelled.