Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders. I would like to welcome you most cordially to the annual general meeting of OMV AG, which this year will again be held as a virtual annual general meeting. In my capacity as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I take the chair and hereby open today's annual general meeting of OMV AG. Due to appropriate lead times for the organization of this year's annual general meeting, and the pandemic-related uncertainties that still existed at the time of its preparation, the Executive Board has decided, after careful consideration and deliberation, to again make use of the legal provisions for holding a virtual annual general meeting for this year. This is necessary for the good and in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.
Today's AGM will therefore be held as a virtual AGM in accordance with the COVID-19 Corporate Law Act and the Corporate COVID-19 Decree, respectively, without the physical presence of shareholders. The annual general meeting will be broadcast in its entirety in picture and sound in real-time on the Internet. By streaming the annual general meeting, all shareholders who wish to do so have the opportunity to follow the entire course of the AGM by means of an acoustic and optical connection. To ensure the smoothest and most secure communication possible, two links are available to you, dear shareholders, on our website. Via these links, you can follow the AGM in picture and sound via two different stream providers. Please select one of these accesses. If you experience any disruptions in the transmission, you can immediately switch to the other provider.
If you have any other technical or organizational questions, a telephone hotline will be available during the AGM. The telephone number of this hotline is now displayed on your screens. You'll also find this telephone number in the information document concerning the organizational and technical requirements for participation in today's AGM. This information document is available on the company's website. As in the past, the AGM will be recorded from now until the end of the reports of Messrs. Alfred Stern, the CEO, and CFO Magister Reinhard Florey on item one of the agenda. This recording will be available on the website of OMV after the AGM. Furthermore, for the purpose of recording by the notary public, today's AGM will be recorded on tape.
Holding the annual general meeting in the form of a virtual AGM results in modifications in the otherwise usual procedure of the AGM, as well as in the exercise of shareholders' rights. I'd like to give you an overview of these modifications. At the same time, I'd like to state that we'll hold today's AGM, as far as possible, in the same way as the usual attendance meeting. First of all, let me inform you of the planned procedures. After dealing with the formalities, the proposed resolutions and reports on the individual agenda items will be presented to you en bloc. This will be followed by the general debate, during which your questions will be read out by the independent lawyer, Dr. Marie-Agnes Arlt, and answered by myself or the members of the executive board.
The final part of today's AGM will be, as usual, the voting on the individual items on the agenda. Now I'd like to briefly explain to you how you, dear shareholders, can exercise your rights today. You'll find further details in the convening notice and in the information document regarding the organizational and technical requirements for participation in today's AGM. These documents are available on the company's website. Voting rights, the submission of motions for resolutions, and the raising of objection may only be exercised by a special proxy proposed by the company and authorized accordingly by the shareholders. Therefore, you can only cast your votes at today's annual general meeting if you have authorized one of the special proxies and have given him or her appropriate instructions. At this point, I'd like to ask the special proxies proposed by the company to briefly introduce themselves and ask Mr.
Ewald Oberhammer, attorney at law, to begin.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. My name is Ewald Oberhammer. I am a lawyer in Vienna. I'm happy to be a special proxy at today's AGM, and I am waiting for an interesting discussion.
Thank you very much, Mr. Oberhammer. I'd now like to ask Mr. Florian Beckermann to introduce himself.
Mr. Chairman, good afternoon. My name is Florian Beckermann. I am Chairman of the Association of Shareholders. I'm looking forward to today's AGM.
I'd now like to ask Mr. Moser to introduce himself.
Mr. Chairman, thank you very much, sir. My name is Christoph Moser. I am a lawyer and partner at Schönherr Rechtsanwälte in Vienna.
Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to attend the meeting today.
I'd now like to ask Mr. Nauer to introduce himself.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman
My name is Christoph Nauer. I am attorney-at-law in Vienna and partner at bpv Hügel Rechtsanwälte, and I'm happy to be a special proxy and represent and support the shareholders of OMV.
Thank you very much. Shareholders have the opportunity to submit their instructions to their chosen special proxy during the AGM as well. The special proxies can be instructed, in particular, to propose resolutions, to cast votes, but also to raise objections. Shareholders also have the possibility to change instructions already given to the chosen proxy. Please use a simple email or the proxy and instruction form for the transmission of instructions. This should be sent to the respective email address of the proxy authorized by you. If you write a simple email
Apart from the application or instruction, it must contain the following information: first name and surname or company name of the shareholder, the date of birth or the shareholder's registration number, and the securities account number. Please end the email by stating your full name or the full company name. The special proxy needs this information in order to establish your identity and to verify compliance with the power of attorney granted to him. Please note that during the AGM, only electronic communication via email with your special proxy is possible. Reachability of the special proxy via telephone, including SMS, cannot be guaranteed. All shareholders who have duly registered to attend the annual general meeting may exercise their rights to information and to speak during the AGM in person or by proxy. This must be done exclusively by email.
It's not possible to authorize the special proxies for this purpose. The shareholders thus have the opportunity to react to developments at the AGM themselves and to submit questions in text form electronically to the email address fragen.omv@hauptversammlung.at. At least for the initial submission of questions, please use the question form that can be downloaded from the company's website. The transmission of the data to be provided in the question form enables us to establish your identity and the correspondence with the data of the deposit confirmation. For all other questions, a simple email from the same email address from which the question form was sent will suffice. This email address must also be provided in the question form.
In addition to the question, the email must contain the following information: first name and surname or company name of the shareholder, date of birth or registration number of the shareholder, as well as the deposit number. Please end the email by stating your full name or the full company name. Please note that I'll structure the timing of the AGM in the same way as I would do for an annual general meeting with shareholders present. Accordingly, I'll also determine the point in time and until which instructions to the special proxies are possible in the course of the annual general meeting. This will be probably close to the end of the general debate. I'll also inform you how long it's permissible to transmit questions. I will then point this out to you again and underline that during the general debate.
I ask you to submit motions, instructions, and questions as soon as possible from now on. Please also note that it may be necessary to briefly interrupt the AGM so that the instructions from the shareholders to the proxies and the questions received during the AGM can be processed safely. So much for a summary of the proceedings of today's virtual AGM, as disclosed on the company's website in the convening notice and in the information on the organizational and technical requirements for participation. As I already said, this year's AGM takes place with an only limited number of physically present people for the purpose of protecting you as shareholders.
Apart from me as the chairman of the executive board, the following members of the executive board are personally present, the first deputy chairman and the chairman of the Remuneration Committee, Dr. Christine Catasta. On the part of the works council representatives, Mr. Auer, Ms. Schachenhofer, Ms. Schörner, Mr. Bundala, and Mr. Singer. Mr. Stajic and Jean-Baptiste Renard are taking part in today's annual general meeting as a guest. They are proposed to be elected to the supervisory board under item 10 of the agenda. The following other members of the supervisory board are taking part virtually: Professor Elisabeth Stadler, Mr. Rose, the chairman of the Portfolio and Project Committee, and Dr. Stefan Topoczky, chairman of the Sustainability and Transformation Committee. The members of the board, the CEO, Dr.
Alfred Stern, Deputy CEO, Mr. Johann Pleininger, Deputy CEO, Mr. Reinhard Florey, member of the board, Elena Skvortsova, Master of International Management, and Mr. member of the board, Martijn van Koten, attending today's annual general meeting in person. Furthermore, I would like to welcome the following participants, Mr. Schwartz, Ms. Schrenk, and Mr. Alexander Blasko as representatives of the external auditor, as well as the four special proxies who already had the opportunity to introduce themselves. Dr. Marie-Agnes Arlt, who will make sure that the questions of shareholders are read properly, as well as Dr. Christian Meier as the Notary Public of this annual general meeting. I request Dr. Meier, Notary Public, to record the minutes of the general meeting, to satisfy the resolutions, as well as to supervise the calculation of the votes.
In the interest of the flow of language, I refrain from using gender-specific terms. In particular, the term shareholder also includes our female shareholders. I now continue with the necessary legal findings and rulings. I declare that the notice convening today's AGM on 29th of April 2022 was published in the official gazette of the Wiener Zeitung and was therefore issued in due time and in the form required by law. That the electronic European distribution by euro adhoc was also carried out on April 29, 2022. Today's annual general meeting, therefore, constitutes a quorum for the announced items on the agenda. The documents required by Section 108 of the Austrian Stock Corporation Act have been available on the company's website since the 29th of April 2022.
On May 6th, 2022, supplementary information on the CVs of the supervisory board candidates, Ms. Hlawati and Mr. Stajic, were also made available on the website. In particular, the following documents could be accessed via the website of OMV since the 29th of April, 2022. Convocation of the annual general meeting, forms for granting and revoking a proxy to one of the special proxies, the question form, as well as the information document regarding the organizational and technical requirements for attending today's AGM. The company has not received any motions from entitled shareholders for additions to the agenda. The company hasn't received any proposals for resolutions from eligible shareholders either. Due to the proper publication of the convocation notice of today's AGM, I assume that you are aware of the agenda and refrain from reading it.
I further note and announce that 265,665,022 no par value shares have been registered for participation within the statutory period. The number of shareholders who have authorized a special proxy to exercise their voting rights at today's AGM will be announced before the first vote at the latest. At that time, I also sign the list of participants and make it available for inspection by the persons physically present at this AGM. With regard to the proceedings of today's AGM, I refer to the explanations I gave at the beginning, as well as to the information document concerning the organizational and technical requirements for participation in today's AGM. The document is accessible on the company's website. It also contains administrative information on the formalities of today's AGM.
I'd like to point out that OMV AG processes personal data of the participants of the AGM on the basis of the applicable data protection laws, in particular, the General Data Protection Regulation, in order to enable you to exercise your shareholders' rights in the context of this annual general meeting. We pointed this out in the convening notice, as well as on our website. You'll find further information on the website that is specifically dedicated to this annual general meeting.
I now turn to the agenda and continue with item one, which is as follows: Presentation of the adopted annual financial statements 2021, including the directors' report, the consolidated corporate governance report, the consolidated payments to governments reports, the consolidated non-financial report, the group financial statements 2021, including the group directors' report, the proposal for the appropriation of profits, as well as the supervisory report for the financial year 2021. The supervisory board has examined and approved the annual financial statements 2021, as well as the directors' report. The annual financial statements 2021 are thus adopted in accordance with Section 96, paragraph four of the Austrian Stock Corporation Act.
The supervisory board has also examined the consolidated corporate governance report 2021, the consolidated payments to governments report 2021, as well as the separate consolidated non-financial report 2021, also referred to as the Sustainability Report 2021, and approved these reports. The supervisory board also reviewed and approved the consolidated financial statements and the group directors' report 2021. The audits carried out by the supervisory board have not given rise to any objections. The supervisory board then adopted the report of the supervisory board, which is printed in the annual report 2021 of the OMV Group. The supplementary report of the supervisory board concerning the separate consolidated non-financial report is attached to this report. Before I report on the work of the supervisory board in the fiscal year 2021, I'd like to comment on the current geopolitical situation and its impact on OMV.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shocked and outraged all of us, governments, diplomacy, citizens, businesses, companies, as well as citizens, I already said. Russian aggression is as brutal as it is incomprehensible, and no one thought such a thing possible in the Europe of the twenty-first century. The 24th of February, 2022 is a historical turning point. It marks the end of trust in an important political and economic partner, and it also means the end of naivety in dealing with a great power that invades a neighboring country overnight. Our sympathy and empathy are with the Ukrainian people. The new situation is a challenge for governments as well as companies, especially for companies that have cooperated successfully with Russia for decades.
Not only Austrian and European politics, but also OMV has placed trust in Russian politics that has proven to be unjustified. The warning signals that could already be sensed before the invasion of Ukraine now appear in a different light. In retrospect, we must conclude that the investments made in Russia after 2015 were based on too much confidence in Russia and Russia's role in the international community. It must be said very clearly, these investments were a mistake when we analyze them ex-post. If we now have to write down EUR 2 billion in the first quarter of 2022, everyone involved must stop trying to defend the decisions. You can't talk up what can't be talked up. We have to stand by this legacy and at the same time learn the strategic lessons from it.
We don't hold partner companies jointly responsible for political developments, but we intend to significantly scale down our involvement in Russia. We'll have to write down our investments there. It's painful, but it's affordable. The decision of the executive board not to invest in Russia in the future is fully supported by the supervisory board. However, our responsibility for security of supply in Austria and other parts of Europe require us to honor our long-term gas supply contracts. We owe this to the population and the many companies that depend on energy imports in Austria. OMV's new focus is on the intensive search for reliable alternatives and new sources in both purchasing as well as exploration. We need to diversify our energy portfolio in the short and long term. The current challenges will accelerate the process of OMV's transformation.
The company is in a solid financial position and well prepared for the course ahead. I have great confidence in the executive board to successfully manage this path together with OMV's employees. The more we strengthen our position, the more independent we are from the turbulences of the markets. That's the lesson of these days. However, despite economic growth, the business year 2021 was already marked by numerous uncertainties. Effects of the Corona pandemic, supply bottlenecks, and increased raw material costs again dampened the global upswing that had begun, especially in the second half of the previous year. In this challenging environment, the great performance of OMV's diversified portfolio and the advantages of the extended value chain towards chemicals were once again clearly demonstrated, and we were able to achieve a record result in 2021.
This success is based upon the commitment and know-how of our employees, who made the best possible use of the multilayered market conditions for oil and gas, as well as for our refinery and chemical products. I already reported on the changes in the executive board at last year's AGM. Alfred Stern initially took over Chemicals and Materials in April 2021 and was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board after the departure of Rainer Seele as of the 1st of September 2021. For the Refining division, Martijn van Koten took up his position as a member of the executive board on the first of July 2021. The renewed executive board team was already able to demonstrate its capabilities last year in the course of developing the new strategy.
Following the successful increase of our investment in Borealis in 2020, OMV was able to successfully implement or continue the planned divestment program in 2021. This included the completion of the sale of our shares in Gas Connect Austria GmbH, our retail and commercial business in Slovenia, and our service stations in Germany. The latter transaction was completed in May 2021. Likewise, there was a disposal of our E&P business in Kazakhstan, the sale of oil fields in Malaysia, and our 25% stake in the Wisting offshore oil field in Norway. In addition, the final investment decision to build a chemical recycling demonstration plant based on OMV's patented ReOil technology was made in 2021.
This is another important milestone towards circular economy and the reduction of CO2 emissions. Our subsidiary, Borealis, is following the same path in a circular economy with its product portfolio of mechanically and chemically recycled plastics, as well as plastics produced from second-generation renewable raw materials, such as used cooking oil. In 2018, Borealis committed to more than quadrupling its production of recycled plastics by 2025. In 2021, 100,000 tons of recycled materials were processed. A continuous increase in this production is planned as part of the updated corporate strategy. As of1st of November , 2021, the Supervisory Board established a Sustainability and Transformation Committee. The committee held its first formal meeting in March 2022, and will address all ESG-relevant topics, in particular, the challenges of climate change.
In doing so, the committee serves to support and monitor OMV's transformation process towards a more sustainable business model. The exchange with investors is of great concern to the Supervisory Board, especially to me, as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. In November and December 2021, together with investor relations, I therefore held a large number of meetings with our major institutional investors and a voting rights advisor as part of a governance roadshow. This roadshow took place virtually due to COVID-19. In December 2021, the Supervisory Board agreed with the OMV Executive Board on the cornerstones of the Strategy 2030, which was then further specified. Finally, on March 16, 2022, the Capital Markets Day took place. The Capital Markets Day, at which the Executive Board presented the new strategy to the public.
OMV intends to evolve into a leading, integrated, sustainable fuels, chemicals, and materials company with a strong focus on circular economy solutions. Based on this new strategy, which represents the most fundamental strategic change in the company's history, OMV aims to become a climate-neutral company by 2050 at the latest. Let me conclude with a compliance matter that has recently been commented on in the media. As you may have taken from the media, there was a change in the management of internal audit and compliance at OMV at the end of 2021. At OMV, ethical and compliance standards are held very high, and possible violations against them are punished accordingly. For this reason, OMV investigated various events surrounding the departure of the former Head of Internal Audit and Compliance as part of an external special audit.
This special audit was approved by both the Executive Board and the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board, and examined a number of audits, conducted under the responsibility of the then division manager. This part of the investigation has now been completed and has confirmed that the audits examined were designed and conducted according to objective audit criteria. The conclusion of a side letter to the employment contract of the former Head of Internal Audit and Compliance and his termination agreement were also examined. The investigation was conducted by an external law firm, which, with many years of experience in conducting internal investigations of this magnitude and comparable companies, and which has not previously conducted any audit work for OMV. This investigation has shown that the side letter with the former division head, concluded is effective and that the termination agreement reached is also effective.
Both of these findings are independent of the expert opinions prepared in this context by Professors Kals and Marhold. However, a result now available also shows that the former Chairman of the Executive Board did not comply with the internal governance rules relating to the conclusion of the side letter and that the necessary internal approvals for a conclusion of such a side letter were not available. Therefore, in May, the Supervisory Board also resolved to conduct an extended audit to examine the former Chairman of the Executive Board's compliance with governance rules. The audit focuses on certain management measures during the time of office of Mr. Seele, including, in particular, the sponsorship agreement with Zenit Saint Petersburg and the gas supply contracts with Gazprom Export.
Against the background of the results of the investigation now available, and in view of the further investigations which haven't been yet completed, the executive board and the supervisory board, following a thorough examination of the matter, have decided to amend their previous proposal for a resolution on the formal discharge of the executive board and to propose to the annual general meeting today not to grant discharge to Rainer Seele for 2021, and to grant discharge only to the other members of the executive board. However, the executive board and the supervisory board would like to emphasize that this decision was taken on the basis of the current state of information and does not, of course, prejudice the outcome of the ongoing investigations, and that it is therefore possible that this matter may be referred to the annual general meeting again.
Under item one of the agenda, we now hear the presentations of Mr. Stern and Mr. Florey. Mr. Stern, please.
Thank you very much, Chairman. Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, a cordial welcome to the annual general meeting 2020 of OMV AG. Before I start with my presentation, I would like to inform you about the fact that this morning, in the framework of the general turnaround of the Schwechat Refinery, there's been an incident which will delay the commissioning of the plant after the turnaround. Two employees were slightly injured. We set up a task force that will investigate this incident, and we'll take all required measures. Ladies and gentlemen, today, I stand before you for the first time as the Chairman of the Executive Board to report on the activities, achievements, and results of your OMV, and to answer your questions together with the other members of the executive board.
I'm doing this with great pleasure as well as with great enthusiasm for leading OMV with a new strategy into a sustainable and continued successful future. At the same time, however, I speak to you with great concern in a situation in which we have a war in Europe. This attack on Ukraine, which was launched arbitrarily and cannot be justified by anything, has not only triggered a geopolitical earthquake and global economic upheavals, but is, above all, causing immeasurable human suffering. For us at OMV, this catastrophic and tragic development meant making two clear decisions quickly. Firstly, we decided that Russia would, in future, no longer be a core region of OMV, and that, in future, we are no longer going to make investments there.
This meant that we immediately ended all negotiations about the possible acquisition of a part of the Achimov Formation of the Urengoy gas field in Western Siberia. Furthermore, our existing 24.99% investment in the Yuzhno Russkoye gas field will be examined, with all options, including divestment and an exit being considered. A corresponding decision, however, can only be made when there are clear legal and regulatory framework conditions. However, we have already decided to change our consolidation method. Since the 1st of March 2022, the Russian business activities are no longer included in the group's key operating figures. This applies to the operating result and the cash flows, as well as the production volume.
Secondly, after the decision about our Russian engagement, and the chairperson of the supervisory board, Mark Garrett, has already said it, we had to make impairments to the amount of approximately EUR 2 billion. About EUR 1 billion of that comes from our receivables from Nord Stream 2 AG and another EUR 1 billion, including historical foreign exchange effects of EUR 200 million, due to our investment in Yuzhno Russkoye. Against the background of today's experience, with hindsight, we must state factually and clearly that the risks of this Russian engagement had been underestimated, and the corresponding investments, therefore, with hindsight, were a mistake. Quite independently of that, we need to consider our gas trading business. Here, we bear responsibility for supplying our customers, and thus we contribute to the security of supply of both Austria and Europe.
Since 1968, OMV has been getting gas from Russia, which due to its cost advantages, has contributed significantly to the upswing and further development of the Austrian and European economies. To date, we have received the ordered gas volumes without any restrictions. We know that OMV's reliability and the quality of our products are important brand features for our customers. That is why we are aware of our responsibility for securing the security of supply of Austria, and we have set up a gas task force. This task force continuously monitors the entire situation, analyzes risks, and develops measures in the event of delivery restrictions. We know that Russian gas cannot be fully replaced in the short term, but we can take precautions. For example, it is already in March that we started filling our storage facilities, which are now filled to an amount of 53%.
Furthermore, the purchase agreement for Norwegian gas has been converted to flexible and short-term availability so that in case of emergency, we can bring this gas to Austria, provided, of course, that the necessary pipeline capacities are available. This also applies for additional LNG volumes, which our gas task force is trying to bring to Austria in the medium term. Ladies and gentlemen, I would once again like to emphasize that we do not currently have a supply problem. The supplies are stable and our gas task force has recently developed payment modalities in line with sanctions and has successfully implemented them in order to ensure that we can pay for future supplies and deliveries, and thus we can use the contractually agreed gas volumes.
The current high gas prices in the European market are therefore not based on a shortage of gas, but essentially based on the concern that there could be supply bottlenecks as a result of the Ukraine war. A significant increase of the gas prices was already observed last year. Thus 2022, and this brings me to the macroeconomic boundary conditions of last year. The average price for natural gas in the European trading hub, Central European Gas Hub, was EUR 46.5 per megawatt hour. It's 4.5 times as high as in the previous year. Real market mechanisms were responsible for this as a result of a strong increase in global demand, especially due to the rapid economic recovery of Asian markets. There were also increases in the oil price.
After initially subdued expectations, the price of North Sea Brent Crude rose significantly, averaging $71 per barrel. That's 69% higher than the previous year. There has been an increasing demand as well as a production discipline of the OPEC+ countries that contributed significantly to this. In the refinery business, the whole year presents a divided picture, while the refining margin was comparatively low in the first half of the year due to the corona-related drop in demand and the simultaneous increase in crude oil costs, it rose sharply in the second half of the year. Improved margins for petrol, naphtha, and middle distillates were the main reason for this. On average, the OMV indicator refining margin in Europe was at $3.7 per barrel, 50% higher than in the previous year.
In the area of chemicals, there was also a general upward trend for the Olefin net margin, as well as for polyolefins. Due to the strong demand, the average European indicator margins for ethylene rose by 8% to EUR 468 per ton, and those for propylene even rose by 25% to EUR 453 per ton. There was an even clearer increase in the margins of polyolefins. This was due to high demand as well as production stoppages in the USA, planned maintenance work in European plants, and a restriction in shipments to Europe as a result of the global shortage of containers. Thus, the European indicator margin for polyethylene was on average EUR 582 per ton, 67% higher than in the previous year.
The margin for polypropylene even rose by 78% to 735 EUR per ton. Ladies and gentlemen, in this economic environment, your OMV has generated a clean CCS operating result of approximately EUR 6 billion, which is a record-breaking result. The reason for this result have not only been the higher oil and gas prices, because clearly more than half of the result comes from the areas refining and marketing, as well as in particular, chemicals and materials. Even though those were actually burdened by the higher energy and raw material costs. Now, to allow you to put this in perspective, I would like to talk about the hitherto best results from the year 2018. It was at EUR 3.65 billion. The difference shows clearly one thing, namely the chemicals business, that we added and that has grown since.
There was an even steeper development of the cash flow. The operating cash flow without net working capital effects was at EUR 8.9 billion in 2021. When compared with the previous year, this is an increase by more than EUR 6 billion. Even if this increase contains a special dividend from Borouge to the amount of EUR 1.3 billion, the OMV group thus is reaching a completely new cash flow level. Last but not least, this is due to the acquisition and full consolidation of Borealis. This extraordinary financial strength, along with our successfully implemented divestment program, has made a significant contribution to reducing the company's debt. The gearing ratio, excluding leasing, was continuously reduced during the year and stood at 22% at the end of the year.
We have thus clearly exceeded our target of achieving a gearing ratio of around 30% by the end of the year. It is only recently that we were able to take yet another successful step with our divestment program since in March, as a consequence of sanctions against Russia, there had been a delay. Yesterday, the Nitrogen business of Borealis received a new binding offer with the enterprise value of EUR 810 million. After completing the mandatory information and consultation processes with the workers' representatives, we will be capable of accepting the offer and signing a purchase agreement. In this case, after the usual regulatory conditions have been met, the closing can happen in the second half of 2022, presumably. Dear shareholders, your OMV has an excellent economic and financial strength and performance.
On the basis of this earning power in the previous year, together with the Supervisory Board, we would like to suggest a clearly higher dividend of EUR 2.30 per share. We are thus not only following our progressive dividend policy, but we are also proposing the highest dividend ever paid out by OMV. Let me briefly return to the results and talk about our three business segments, and each of those have contributed positively to this result. The area of exploration and production, where in 2021, the Clean CCS operating result rose clearly year-on-year. It rose from EUR 145 million to EUR 2.8 billion. This extraordinarily good result was due to the higher oil and gas prices, but also the slightly higher production volume of 486,000 barrels per day and the equally increased sales volumes.
In the area of refining and marketing, the Clean CCS operating result remained stable in a year-on-year comparison at EUR 1 billion. Behind this figure, there is a divided picture. On the one hand, the earnings are due to higher refining margin and a better result of ethanol refining and trading and a generally higher demand for fuels. On the other hand, we are seeing lower contributions coming from hedges on middle distillate margins and also somewhat lower revenue from oil trading and a weaker gas business. On the whole, this had a dampening effect on the refining and marketing results. Now, let me talk about the gas business. The natural gas sales volumes were significantly increased.
Yet again, the overall result went down in a year-on-year comparison, however, due to the sale of the gas logistics subsidiary, Gas Connect Austria, the contributions of which were still a fully consolidated part of OMV's results. The biggest increase came from the chemicals and materials business, however. The C&M operating result was increased by a factor of four year-on-year and rose from EUR 519 million to EUR 2.2 billion. The demand for polyolefins rose sharply, especially in the energy sector and also in the health industry. Thus, the sales volume in Europe went up and we also benefit from significantly higher margins.
In addition to this, the Borealis joint ventures, Borouge and Baystar, also benefited from the rising polyolefin prices in Asia and the United States, and thus their contributions to the result rose significantly. In line with the strong polyolefin market, there was also high capacity utilization in the European chemicals plants of OMV and Borealis. It was at 90%. Based on the strong market outlook, we took a major milestone last year, according to which ADNOC and Borealis will extend the strategic partnership Borouge in the United Arab Emirates. The project Borouge 4, Borealis has a 40% share, means a common investment of $6.2 billion in a polyolefin production plant with an annual capacity of 1.4 million tons.
This complex will be commissioned at the end of 2025, and thus we will be able to serve the rising demand in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the areas of energy infrastructure and modern packaging, advanced packaging. There are daily news about this. Last month, Borouge announced an IPO with a minority share of 10%, which has already been successfully implemented. Since today, Borouge shares are listed in the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and can be subscribed there. Thus, the financing of our chemicals activities are even more broader based, and we are also adding additional thrust to our growth. Ladies and gentlemen, the record result of last year is based on the one hand on the higher oil and gas prices, and on the other hand, on the extraordinarily good demand situation and pricing environment for our refinery and chemicals products.
That isn't the only reason. A good market environment offers opportunities that need to be made use of. This is what our employees did based on their know-how and their commitment in an optimal fashion. This is what I would like to thank all of our employees for on behalf of the entire executive board. Thank you very much. After looking back at the past year, I would now like to provide you with an outlook, a short-term outlook on the current business year and a long-term one pointing to the future. Let me start with a look at the current year. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the geopolitical tensions it has triggered and their global economic impact, forecasts are extremely difficult.
In light of the previous developments and current expectations, we assume that the average crude oil price for Brent will be at $95 per barrel, and our average realized gas price will be higher than EUR 45 per megawatt hour. In the area of chemicals, there's a divided picture. While the olefin margins are expected to remain at the previous year's level, we believe that the margins for polyolefins will be lower than in the previous year. We also expect the capacity utilization of our steam cracker in Europe to be below the previous year's capacity of 90% because there will be a general turnaround both in Schwechat and in Burghausen. In the area of refining and marketing, we assume that the OMV refinery indicator margin in Europe will be clearly higher than in the previous year.
The capacity utilization of European refineries, however, is expected to remain at the same level as last year, even though, as I mentioned, in the refineries of Burghausen and Schwechat, there will be turnarounds. In the area of exploration and production, we expect a production volume which will probably be at 390,000 barrels per day, clearly lower than in the previous year. The reason for this abrupt and significant reduction is that the Russian volumes are no longer included in the total production of OMV. Organic investments in 2022 will presumably amount to EUR 3.5 billion. This figure also includes non-cash investments in connection with leasing agreements of about EUR 600 million.
About EUR 1.3 billion will fall to chemicals and materials, about EUR 800 million to refining and marketing, and about EUR 1.3 billion will go to exploration and production. In order to successfully shape the long-term development of a company, we have to look beyond the fiscal year in question. By doing so, we see major challenges looming ahead of us. Climate change is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges for all of us, for us as individuals, as a society, and for us as a company. It is for this reason that sustainability is the heartbeat and the main driver of our new Strategy 2030.
Thus, we have charted a course towards net zero emissions in the long term, and we are planning to establish OMV as a leading company for fuels, chemicals, and materials. We intend to say goodbye to production of fossil fuels step by step, and to turn OMV into a leading supplier and provider of sustainable fuels and raw materials. The guiding principle of this transformation is the model of the circular economy. We have to say goodbye to the linear model of economic activities and establish a circular economy model. We have to create a value cycle from the value chain. This requires new ways of thinking from all players. We all consume more than 100 billion tons of resources, minerals, oil, gas, and other raw materials worldwide every year. Only less than 10% of that is recycled.
We simply consume the rest and return it to the world in the form of waste and emissions. This cannot go on like that. This is not only shown to us by the environment with its climate change, but it is also shown to us, for example, by the war in Ukraine, which makes us painfully aware that we are dependent on the daily supply of new energy and new raw materials. Here at OMV, this idea of the circular economy that we want to consistently develop further has four dimensions of different sizes. The first and smallest circle we want to close is that of reuse. Here, it's a matter of us transforming single-use applications into multiple-use applications. A good example of this is the cooperation with our British partner, Bockatech, with whom we are developing reusable packaging.
You can already get such reusable beverage cups in our VIVA stores and OMV service stations. The second circle is that of the mechanical and chemical recycling of plastic waste. OMV is already well advanced in this area. Last but not least, thanks to the ReOil technology, for which we are currently building a plant with a capacity of 16,000 tons per year in the Schwechat refinery. Such recycled chemical products can be obtained and bought by our customers from us. The next largest, third circle is the use of CO₂ which is stored in plants. For example, in the form of used cooking oil. This can be used to produce sustainable fuels, but also raw materials for the chemical industry. Here, too, we are already active.
Since March of this year, we've been producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel at the Schwechat refinery and are supplying Austrian Airlines with it. Today, the quantities are still small, at 2,000 tons, but we are planning to increase production by 2030 to 700,000 tons. The strategic goal is quite clear. We want to become a leading producer of sustainable fuels and raw materials in Europe. The fourth and largest circle that we want to establish is the direct use of emitted CO₂ that is released during industrial production processes. This will still require some technological development and innovative strength, but we are already active in this area. In the longer term, we want to develop plants that can produce synthetic fuels and raw materials from CO₂.
In addition to these four cycles, we intend to use our know-how as well as existing reservoirs and infrastructure to make geothermal energy and, if legally possible, also underground storage of CO₂ usable. Geothermal energy, in particular, can make an important contribution to the energy transition, and finally, also initiate a broad-based heating transition. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm aware of the fact that we cannot implement this development, as just outlined, overnight. There's no switch we can simply flip that will change the global economy at a stroke. We still need oil and gas, and gas will play a significant role as a transitional energy longer than oil. We cannot yet recycle and reuse every raw material and every molecule. We must make it our goal and take the first steps today, and that is exactly what we're doing.
The projects that are already underway and the goal of using at least 40% of organic investments for low carbon projects by 2030 are a clear commitment to this. Both the energy transition, as well as the circular economy and the associated transformation of our entire energy and economic systems require new regulatory frameworks, fast approval procedures, as well as large amounts of green energy and the necessary infrastructure. This requires a new, constructive and active partnership between business, society, and politics. Because the transformation of our energy and economic system can only be achieved by working together. Especially in the current times of crisis, it is necessary not to lose sight of these goals. We should use them to move more quickly towards a sustainable economic system.
Through appropriate framework conditions and the right initiatives, politics can make this development possible. We at OMV are ready to make our contribution by launching new technologies and solutions for a more sustainable life. We have set ourselves the goal of reinventing the foundations for sustainable living, and we are convinced that this strategy is a growth strategy that will create sustainable value for OMV in the long term, and thus for you, our valued shareholders. A strategy only comes to life and becomes a reality through the know-how, the commitment, and the tireless efforts of our employees. When I look back at OMV's history of almost seven decades, I do so with great respect and sincere appreciation for the achievements of its employees. Throughout the decades and in every phase of the history of the company, they have proven that they can successfully de-develop the company with new impulses.
It is for this reason, dear shareholders, that we can begin the greatest transformation in the history of this company with full optimism. Thank you for your trust.
Thank you very much, Mr. Stern. I would now like to give Mr. Florey the floor.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders. I am pleased to present to you today the key financial figures of the OMV Group for the financial year 2021, and the results of the first quarter, 2022. Both the consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS and the separate financial statements of OMV AG, prepared in accordance with Austrian GAAP, received an unqualified audit opinion from the auditors in 2021. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Ernst & Young Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft m.b.H. for their excellent cooperation. Ladies and gentlemen, we were able to re-achieve record earnings in 2021 despite adverse environments. We owe this in large part to our new chemicals and materials segment. The last few months have shown us how fragile our peaceful coexistence is. Our thoughts are with the people in Ukraine who are suffering indescribably as a result of this terrible war.
Even though the duration of this conflict is uncertain, I can assure you as OMV's CFO that it doesn't endanger the financial stability of this company from today's perspective. The capital structure remains extremely stable even after the impairments of Russian-related assets. The current share price demonstrates unbroken investor confidence. Today, I'd like to share with you some finance-related key points of our Strategy 2030, presented in mid-March. We want to continue to grow while building a circular low-emissions business model, adhering to strict investment criteria, as well as maintaining our progressive dividend policy. As you can see, in 2021, we could achieve a significant increase in all earnings indicators presented. Our CCS operating profit before special items increased by more than two and a half times to EUR 6 billion. The acquisition of Borealis completed at the end of 2020 is paying off in particular.
The already strong growth in demand for plastic products was further supported by the effects of the corona pandemic, particularly in the healthcare and packaging sectors. On the other hand, imports of polyolefins to Europe did not take place to the usual extent due to transport bottlenecks. This resulted in excellent margins, which continue to this day. In refining and marketing, we were able to keep earnings stable despite adverse developments in demand and costs. This again demonstrates our proven cost management expertise. Exploration and production achieved an exceptionally good result in 2021. The strong contribution of commodity price developments to the E&P result should not diminish the excellent performance of this sector. Above all, the higher production volume, but also the leading position of OMV in automation and digitalization, and the resulting increase in cost efficiency contributed significantly to the increase in earnings.
CCS net income attributable to shareholders before non-recurring items increased more than threefold to EUR 2.5 billion, and thus more strongly than CCS operating earnings before non-recurring items. Allocated to the respective shareholders, CCS earnings per share before special items were EUR 8.77. A key reason for this is the higher share of earnings attributable to the chemicals and materials segments, which is taxed on average at a lower rate than E&P earnings. The chemical segments, therefore, contributed most, almost half of the after-tax earnings, compared with just over a third as far as the operating profit is concerned. Net income attributable to shareholders after special items increased from EUR 1.3 billion in 2020 to EUR 2.1 billion in 2021. Negative special items were more pronounced in 2021 compared with the previous year. While there was a positive effect from CCS stockholding effects.
Earnings per share after special items improved significantly to EUR 6.40. The challenges we faced haven't diminished. I therefore consider it an extraordinary achievement by our OMV employees to have produced a record result of this magnitude. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for this. Only together can we achieve such results and bring the company safely through these turbulent times. Cash inflows also developed extremely positively in 2021, with the cash flow from operating activities more than twice as high as the year before at EUR 7 billion. Organic free cash flow before dividends increased significantly from EUR 1.3 billion in 2020 to EUR 4.5 billion. This was owing to strong cash generation in our businesses.
At EUR 2.5 billion, organic investment cash flow was higher than before, partly due to the now fully consolidated chemicals and materials segment, and partly to a catch-up of investment projects from the previous year. The sharp rise in raw material prices also led to a negative working capital development. However, this is already reflected in the excellent free cash flow. The strong earnings performance of the previous year was continued in the first quarter of 2022. CCS operating earning before special items reached more than EUR 2.6 billion, although the strong price increase made a significant contribution here. I'd like to emphasize it was not only exploration and production that drove this improvement. Refining and marketing and chemicals and materials also made notable contributions thanks to strong margin environments.
Due to a reorganization of the gas business as of the first quarter of 2022, the segment split in operating profit has shifted marginally between E&P and R&M. For comparison purposes, the figures for 2021 are presented in the currently new structure. CCS net income attributable to shareholders before special items also more than doubled year-over-year to over EUR 1 billion in the first quarter of 2022. The positive special items for net income would have been even stronger in the first quarter 2022, thanks to positive inventory and hedging effects similar to the first quarter of the prior year, but this reflects write-downs associated with our activities in Russia. I'll come to the details later on.
As a result, the net income attributable to shareholders in the first quarter, 2022, in the amount of EUR 546 million, is only slightly more than half of the CCS net income attributable to shareholders before special items of EUR 1,070 million. Let me comment on one most recent event at this point. The IPO announced this morning of Borouge, one of the world's largest integrated petrochemical complexes, shows that the expansion of our chemical expertise is also finding good acceptance outside Europe. Borouge is a 40/60 joint venture of Borealis with ADNOC in Abu Dhabi, which uses Borealis Borstar technology to produce high-quality polyolefins from locally abundant and cheap raw materials, mainly for export. The IPO of a 10% minority stake in Borouge reduces Borealis' ownership in Borouge from 40% to 36%.
The IPO took place with a total valuation of Borouge in the amount of $20 billion. Thus, the value of OMV's indirect stake in Borouge currently accounts for just under 30% of OMV's market capitalization. This is substantially more than many analysts had previously assumed in their models when valuing OMV. The extraordinary value generation that has always taken place at Borouge can now be fully appreciated by the financial market. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to inform you that OMV was again rated best in class in various ESG ratings in 2021. For example, we received the highest rating, AAA, in MSCI's ESG ratings for the ninth year in a row. This places OMV in the top 10% of oil and gas companies.
In addition, according to ISS ESG's rating, we maintained our prime status with a grade of B-minus. This places OMV in the top 5% of oil and gas companies in terms of ESG performance. In 2021, OMV received a platinum medal for the first time in EcoVadis' annual assessment, placing it in the top 1% of 75,000 companies assessed by EcoVadis worldwide. In addition to these outstanding achievements, OMV continues to be listed in several ESG indices. Most notably, OMV was the only Austrian company included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index as well as in the global and European level for the fourth year in a row. Ladies and gentlemen, I now continue with a topic that concerns us all, the war in Ukraine. Immediately after the outbreak of the war, we fundamentally changed our strategy relating to our Russian investments.
OMV no longer considers Russia as a core region. As already reported by Mr. Stern, we've taken cash neutral write-downs and impairments of around EUR 2 billion in relation to our Russia activities, of which around EUR 1 billion is attributable to our Yuzhno-Russkoye gas field in Siberia, and another EUR 1 billion in connection with our loans for Nord Stream 2, consisting of a receivable of EUR 729 million plus accrued interest. OMV has no stake in Nord Stream 2, but is exclusively a financing partner. Although we've written off our receivable from Nord Stream 2, but we will, of course, do everything possible to recover our money. The subsidiaries in Yuzhno-Russkoye entrusted with gas production were deconsolidated in our balance sheet from March 2022.
Thanks to our excellent cash flows and stable balance sheet structure, these developments will have only a minor impact on the financial stability of OMV. Despite the 2% increase in the leverage ratio due to the write-downs, this ratio fell by 3 percentage points overall to 18% in the first quarter of 2022, thanks to favorable cash flow development. In relation to the overall business of the OMV Group, the weight of our Russian activities is low. It's true that the share of Russian natural gas production averaged around 20% of our total production in the E&P segment over the past 3 years. However, the share of profit and cash flow at group level has been in the low single-digit range over this period.
For the Russian assets still owned by OMV, but now deconsolidated, we intend to find solutions by means of appropriate, responsible portfolio measures. The strong financial performance of OMV in 2021 was also reflected in the share price performance last year, which was little affected by the corona-related turbulences. The reorientation towards plastics made a major contribution. 57% total return, including dividend reinvestments for 2021, is a top performance that far exceeds that of the market. The performance of the OMV share in 2021 was 30 percentage points above that of the FTSE sector index for oil and gas, and 12 percentage points above that of ATX. In 2022, the performance of the OMV share was also initially very positive.
After approaching an all-time high of EUR 60 in mid-February, the outbreak of war in Ukraine also triggered a significant slide in the OMV share price. In the meantime, the share has almost completely recovered. On the one hand, this is due to the high oil and gas prices, and on the other hand, OMV was once again able to demonstrate that its business operations are not threatened by the events thanks to its robust balance sheet structure. A turning point for the share was the presentation of the Strategy 2030 in mid-March. This proves that from the investor's point of view, the long-term gains OMV can expect thanks to the new strategy outweigh the comparatively short-term adverse developments in Russia. Strong financial results for the first quarter of 2022 have also given the stock a further boost.
Since the strategy presentation, OMV's share has moved well above the industry average and saw strong outperformance vis-à-vis the ATX. Compared to the year-end price of 2021, the share has meanwhile also achieved an increase in price. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd now like to go into a little more detail on the Strategy 2030 I mentioned earlier. Before I show you the specific plans, I'd like to give you an idea of what we expect from it. The aim is to increase operating cash flow before working capital effects from an average of just under EUR 5 billion over the past three years to around EUR 6 billion in 2025, and at least EUR 7 billion by 2030.
We are also aiming for a significant increase in CCS operating earnings before non-recurring items from EUR 3.7 billion we've achieved on average over the past three years, to at least EUR 5 billion in 2021, and at least EUR 6 billion by 2030. As you see, we have great confidence in the earnings potentials of our plans. Now I'd like to give you an overview of how we intend to achieve these targets. At the forefront is our ambition to make our business operations emissions-neutral by 2050. We've defined a clear path for this end and set specific targets to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions for Scope one, two, and three for 2030 and 2040. We intend to further strengthen our plastics portfolio and transform ourselves into a leading producer of sustainable fuels.
Thanks to our leading position in the circular economy, we intend to minimize the production and processing of fossil hydrocarbons. Our focus on strong cash generation and clear investment criteria remains unchanged. As previously announced, we intend to continue our successful progressive dividend policy. Our robust balance sheet structure puts us in a favorable position to embark on this transformation. In the past quarter, we were able to further reduce the leverage ratio. This ratio is defined as net debt, including lease liabilities in relation to capital employed. Owing to this excellent starting position and the high organic cash flow, we are able to provide substantial financial resources for growth investments and the realignment of our business model. As far as our investments are concerned, we plan to strictly comply with clearly defined selection criteria and continue to adhere to our proven cost discipline.
We are committed to maintaining the investment grade ratings of the rating agencies of Moody's and Fitch. As far as the employment of means are concerned, we will continue as usual. We have an obligation to continue our progressive dividend policy, and this gained even more priority than in the past. We want to show our shareholders that we acknowledge the support they have given to us. Third, we are trying to find acquisition targets if our financial structure allows us. This is an opportunistic way of accelerating our transformation. Deleveraging also has a fourth priority, but can change ranks with other priorities if deleveraging makes it possible. We are building up a low emission business segment, and all business segments are asked to contribute to that. We are currently in the midst of investment activities.
27% of organic investments are planned to be done in low emission activities. In the years after 2025, this share will be further increased, thus increasing up to 40%, over the time span 2022- 2030. 53% of our investments in low emission activities that we plan for 2023- 2026 are broken down as follows, 24% in exploration and production, in particular storage of CO2 and geothermal. We will also produce renewable energy for in-house consumption and thus save emissions. 90% are reserved for R&M, where we want to produce sustainable fuels and also base materials for chemical further processing. Production of synthetic fuels and green hydrogen will also be examined. 10% are invested in C&M into sustainable polyolefins, a circular economy.
I just wanted to show how we spend our means on the basis of the priorities. Organic investments give us an enormous room to maneuver. We want to use this room to maneuver for potential dividend increases in order to make acquisitions if things go well. Ladies and gentlemen, with our progressive dividend policy, we want you to take part in our success, and we want to thank you for your support. What you don't see in the graph is the earnings potential that we expect from synergies and divestments. The room to maneuver shown is must be understood as a minimum room to maneuver that we can extend by divesting further and by further inner synergy savings. As far as acquisition criteria are concerned, we are focusing on our transformation targets.
The targets are to reduce emissions and to increase our activities in the chemical industry. By acquiring Borealis, we extended already our chemical industry, and we want to extend into other chemical areas. This is the area where we see the most important inorganic growth potential, which also can answer your profit expectations. From a financial point of view, additional synergies of existing activities and additional growth are the most important criteria. Only in this way can we achieve the expected profits. A further aspect is financial resilience. In order to protect our cash flow from incalculable raw material price developments, we plan to invest in the production of high-quality, sustainable plastics, which always are heavily demanded independent of the oil price level. Ladies and gentlemen, OMV, in spite of the volatile environment, managed to achieve an excellent result.
We are confirming our long-term obligation vis-à-vis our shareholders by leaving our dividend policy unchanged. We are planning to increase the dividend each and every year, or at least keep it at the level of the previous year. Our most important desire is reserved for the end of my presentation. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, we want you to take a share in our success. As already announced by our CEO, Alfred Stern, we are proposing a new record dividend of EUR 2.30 per share. This is an increase of more than 24% as compared to the previous year. This is the most substantial increase of a dividend payment in the history of OMV and follows the successful implementation of our progressive dividend policy with an increase of an average of 15% on average.
Now allow me to continue with the report according to Section 65, sub-paragraph three of the Austrian Stock Corporation Act. Treasury shares today are 201,674 of the 327,222,727 no-par value shares of the company. The share of the stock capital for these treasury shares is 201,674, and thus, the share is 0.061623%. The weighted average price of shares bought back was EUR 10.98. As already said in the past years' reports, after 2007, there were no further repayments of buybacks of treasury shares in 2021.
Since the 31st of December 2021, no treasury shares were acquired or sold. In 2021, 36,520, and in 2022, up until today, 59,652 no-par value shares were used to serve long-term incentives plans and share part of the annual bonus plans. Since the last report in the AGM 2021 up until today's AGM, 59,652 no-par value shares were used for this purpose. Until the AGM of the 18th of May 2016, the use of the shares were.
The shares were used on the basis of the authorization of the executive board that was decided on the 17th of May 2011 and later until the 17th of May 2021 on the basis of the authorization given on the 18th of May 2016. The annual general meeting on the 2nd of June 2021 authorized the board for the timespan of five years with the approval of the supervisory board to give treasury shares of the company to leading employees executives, et cetera, in the course of long-term intensive plans and equity deferrals by excluding the preemptive rights of shareholders. Ladies and gentlemen, so much for my deliberations. I'd like to thank you for your attention.
I'd like to thank you for your trust in OMV.
I'd like to thank Mr. Stern and Mr. Florey there for the reports, and I would like to thank the entire board for their constructive cooperation.