Ladies and gentlemen, in my function as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I take over the chairmanship of today's meeting and open up today's Annual General Meeting of OMV AGI. First of all, I would like to inform you that as from now until the end of the presentations of Mr. Sele and Mr. Davies, there will be a live stream on the Internet. This is relating to Item 1 of the agenda.
Furthermore, I would like to welcome ladies and gentlemen, shareholders of our company and their proxies. Furthermore, the members of the Supervisory Board, the members of the Executive Board, the CEO, Mr. Sele Deputy, David Davis Mr. Josef Kleininger and Mr. Manfred Leitner as well as the future member of the Board in the audience, the future member, Mr.
Reinhard Flori. Furthermore, I would like to welcome Mr. Gerhard Schwartz and Mr. Alexander Vlasto as representatives of the external auditor. The ladies and gentlemen who are guests of today's Annual General Meeting and Mr.
Christian Mayer as the notary of this Annual General Meeting. If I use only the mail address, this is for simplifications case and I mean ladies and gentlemen, shareholders. I furthermore ask notary public, Doctor. Maier, to record the minutes of today's AGM to notarize the resolutions and to supervise the evaluation of the votes. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very pleased that so many have accepted the invitation to this Annual General Meeting, and I will draw your attention to the so called proxy voting.
Shareholders have the opportunity to have their voting rights exercised by an independent proxy. How you do that was stated in the invitation to the AGM. This also means that you have to get information on the proposals that will be voted on is necessary. We disclosed our motions on the website in due time. In addition, we also offer for deaf people a translation of the AGM in sign language.
This sign language has also been seen in the Internet web cast. Let me continue with the legal statements. I state that the invitation to the AGM was published on the April 20 16 in the official cassette of the Wiener Zeitung in due time and also in the legal form. And that the electronic European dissemination was via euro ad hoc, was done also on the 20th April, 20 16 via your ad hoc. This means that today's AGM has a quorum in relation to the items on the agenda that were published.
The documents that are necessary pursuant to Section 108 Stock Cooperation Act have been made accessible since April 20, 2016, 1 week longer than legally required. Proposals of entitled shareholders to supplement the agenda or alternative proposals for resolutions have not been sent to the company. The agenda is also included in your documents. So I assume that you know the agenda, and I will not read the agenda. Furthermore, I state and I can announce that 232,339,229 NOPA value shares, that is to say 2,963 registrations, were registered for participation in the Annual General Meeting.
The presence of the AGM will be announced before the fast voting at the latest. And I will also sign the list of participants and make it available for inspection at this point in time. Let me say a few words on the AGM that we have today. For reasons for drawing up the minutes by the notary public and for the notarial minutes, republican for the notarial minutes, the AGM will be tape recorded today. We wanted to summarize the discussion relating to all items on the agenda in a general debate.
All reports and proposals for resolutions will be presented en bloc. After that, our shareholders or representatives of shareholders can take the floor in relation to 1 or all items on the agenda. After conclusion of the general debate, no separate discussion is planned, and we will have votes on the resolutions. The items on the agenda and proposals for resolutions can be taken from the shareholder folder. If you as a shareholder want to take the floor, please use the forms contained in your documents.
If you need any further requests for the floor, any further forms, please contact the assistance in the room or at the interests. Please write your question on the form, and please also state whether you want to present the question yourselves or you want to have this question read to the audience. All shareholders who want to ask their questions in person, please come to the speakers' desk. Please note that the sequence of shareholders asking questions is arbitrary and is not in line with the sequence of submission of the forms. I will only admit questions that relate to the items on our agenda.
Please do not ask general questions on any topic. If you have to leave the Annual General Meeting early, I would like to state that you can authorize a proxy. You will get forms for that when leaving the room. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the UBIB Act that went into force on the 19th March 2015 foresees an advisory board, a nomination committee that is set up by state secretaries, Doctor. Harald Mara and Magister Stonjer Stessel as well as the economic experts, Gunther Gaya and Doctor.
Wolfgang Leitner. The task of this nomination committee is Supervisory Board members of UB Investments, among them, OMV For UB, the decision of the nomination committee is final. For the company, the supervisory board, upon proposal of the nomination committee, is responsible to make proposal of the nomination committee, is responsible to make proposal of candidates, and the supervisory board also did that. Furthermore, I would like to point out that the selection of supervisory board members is meeting the requirements of the Austrian corporate governance code, and the nominees are generally respected entrepreneurs, members of the preprofessions or executives from the private or public sectors. And all the nominees have broad experience as executives or as a supervisory board member of a company.
As you also know from our press release, the Supervisory Board decided on the 19th January 2016 that Mr. Reinhard Flori will follow Mr. Davies as the CFO of OMV. Mr. Flori will take up his activity at OMV on the 1st July 2016.
Before starting with the agenda, let me give you some indications. I may inform you that between 3:30 and 6 we invite you for a meal. As in the past years, the parking is free of charge for you. Exit tickets can be obtained from the guest and Investor Relations desk and the registration desk. In addition, I would like to point out that the German version of the presentations is on the left hand side and the English one on the right hand side.
If there are questions or problems, the ladies and gentlemen of the registration desk will be at your disposal. In conclusion, I would like to ask you to switch off your mobile phones or put them in silent mode. And I would like to remind you of the fact that taking pictures, filming and private recordings are forbidden. Let me start with the agenda, item 1 of the agenda, which says presentation of the approved annual accounts 2015, 2015, including the management report and corporate government report, the group consolidated financial statements 2015, including the management report, the proposal of the appropriation of earnings as well as the supervisory board report on the business year 2015. The supervisory board reviewed and approved the annual accounts 2015 as well as the management report.
This means that the annual accounts 2015 in accordance with the paragraph 96, Section 4, Stock Corporation Act is approved. The Supervisory Board also also reviewed and approved the corporate governance report. The Supervisory Board also reviewed the group financial statements as well as the group management letter and also gave its consent. The examinations of the supervisory board gave no reasons for objections. The supervisory board then adopted the report of the supervisory board.
The report can be found on Page 1 of the Annual Report 2015 of OMB AG and on Page 4 of the group financial report 2015. The supervisory board had 7 meetings in 2015. In addition, there are 4 committees of the Supervisory Board that had 21 meetings in total. We followed the international best practice and decided in May 2015 that the Chairman of the Audit Committee will not be the Chairman of the Supervisory Board anymore. In addition, we had further improvements of corporate governance and the variable remuneration system of the Executive Board.
I'll come back to that under item number 7 of our agenda. The Supervisory Board dealt intensively with the identification the new CEO and Mr. Pleininger is the new board member responsible for Upstream. In addition, we had a process to identify a suitable successor for the CFO, which resulted in nominating Reinhard Flori, something that I already pointed out before. In all executive in all contracts with the members of the Executive Board that were concluded after July 20 15.
That is one important improvement. Severance payments in case of ending of during the term were reduced to a maximum of 18 fixed salaries. So far, it was a 2 year fixed salary plus bonus payments according to the Austrian Corporate Governance Code. And typically, it amounted to 6 years fixed salaries. In addition, the supervisory board discussed the new strategy of OMV intensively and unanimously adopted the strategy on 15th December 2015.
Normally, we do not disclose the quorum of such a vote, but I think it was important that OMV had a unanimous decision on the new strategy. And I think it is also important to point out that all members of the Supervisory Board, including strategy proposal. We also concentrated on the planned investment in Pipeline Nord Stream 2 as well as the development of Section 45 of ACHIMA formation in the Orengoy field. The last one is for a swap in an investment of Gazprom and OMV assets. A further central topic was the planned selling off of a minority share in Gasconnecht Austria.
And we also started the selling process of the Turkish Petrolofici. In the framework of the annual planning process, the supervisory board emphasized that a positive free cash flow after dividends is the priority goal also in a difficult market environment. I would like to pass the floor to Mr. Sele and Mr. Davis, and I pass the floor to Mr.
Sele. Thank you.
Modern societies need oil and gas. Modern future oriented economies need oil and gas. Innovative, future proof industrial locations need it even more. So oil and gas do have a future. The current turbulences in the oil and gas markets change nothing about this fact.
This also lays the foundations for the future of OMV. With OMV, Austria has an industrial group that stands for oil and gas. That means responsibility, and that is an obligation for the state, for the economy, and for the society. This also entails the responsibility for securing the supply with oil and gas in Austria. Everybody wants heat.
We deliver heat. Every person wants optimum mobility. That is part of the modern feeling of life today. We have the fuel. People want a clean environment.
We stand for natural gas, which is the ecological partner of Sun and Wind. Without natural gas, we will not be able to reach the climate targets, not in Austria, not in Europe, not in the world. Also the companies in Austria and beyond rely on affordable energy. We are there for them. Industry needs oil as a valuable raw material as a basis for technological innovation for effective drugs, for lightweight cars, for smartphones and for wind turbines.
Yes, oil and gas have a future, and OMV shapes this future. And thus, ladies and gentlemen, I bid you a cordial welcome to our Annual General Meeting of OMB in 2016. Taking a look at the world of oil and gas does not make one optimistic nowadays. The oil price is oscillating around the $40 mark. And in light of the fact that the large oil producers are always quarreling, there is no solution in sight.
Recently, the Doha Conference of the Most Important Oil Producers failed due to the different positions of Saudi Arabia and Iran. So there will continue to be a high level of production that affects prices and that affects all companies in the oil and gas industry across the globe. Gas prices have also reached a low point globally. The fracking boom in the U. S, the increased LNG offer and the weak business trend especially in emerging economies are putting pressure on prices.
The global gas market is currently oversupplied. That makes LNG a cheap product. That makes liquid gas and that makes natural gas a cheap product. In the long term, we believe that the gas prices will recover because the production in Europe is going down and the need for imports will go up. The whole world is looking at the major political the major economic situation and also the political situation and geopolitical conflicts that determine the prices of oil and gas, the crisis in Arab countries, Syria, Yemen, Libya and the tensions between the West and Russia.
Of course, the war in Yemen and the unstable and warlike situation in Libya have an influence on OMV's production and on our results and our balance sheet. But in times of oversupplied markets, all these geopolitical conflicts only have a limited impact on the prices of oil and gas. The oil price is no longer determined by global politics. On the contrary, the oil price increasingly determines geopolitics. The decline of oil price creates victims around the globe.
Venezuela, Brazil, Russia, Nigeria, even Norway are affected. Some of these countries can no longer cover their budgets at an oil price of $40 per barrel. That creates a source of new tensions. Keep oil, of course, is good for the consumer, but it has disastrous consequences for many oil and gas companies and also for many oil producing countries. Last year, the supply of oil and gas rose more quickly than the demand.
That will be corrected. According to estimates of the International Energy Agency, this may even change toward the end of this year or at the beginning of next year. An important reason is that since the oil prices collapsed, investment in Upstream were reduced by onethree. So the supply goes down and the medium term prices may rise again. Volatility is our new normalcy in the oil and gas markets.
Volatility is also the enemy of secure and robust planning, and this condition will perdue. In this environment, ladies and gentlemen, only those will survive who has a grip on costs and who has a flexible and sustainable strategy, whoever can identify opportunities and use them. Ladies and gentlemen, there are difficult years lying ahead of us, but this OMV of ours has a good perspective if we can make our group fit for the future. In its current condition, however, we need to act. In recent years, we invested 1,000,000,000 of euros for only weak production increase.
We have high costs in Upstream, and we are not competitive in light of low oil prices. Our reserve replacement rate is at 44% and thus has fallen to an intolerable low point. In spite of an increase in our exploration and appraisal budget to €700,000,000 what we need is more sustainability in production. We are suffering high losses in downstream gas owing to high infrastructure costs and lack of investments in gas fueled power plants. So this is the realistic scenario.
This is the reality OMV is dealing with and that screams for strategy for the future. The strategy is to make the company fit for the market to be able to react to this volatile market environment in a strong and robust way. We need to face competition. We need to compare ourselves with the best in the market. And we want to face stiff competition even under these difficult circumstances, and we want to be among the top.
But before I deal with the future, I'd like to talk about the year 2015. The last year was a major challenge for the entire industry owing to the low oil prices. OMV, of course, benefits from the advantages of our integrated business model. A strong performance in downstream in this current environment led to natural hedging because the commitment along the value chain of oil and gas, our investment and the higher processing of our products ensured a stabilization of our results. Our performance in the Upstream business was burdened by the development of prices.
The realized oil price went down by 46%, the realized gas price fell by 21%. Furthermore, our total production fell by 2% to 303,000 barrels of oil equivalent today. Higher volumes from Norway were offset by production standstills in Libya and Yemen. At the end of November of 2015, the oil platform, Edwards Krieg, started the first production. It is 180 kilometers west of Stavanger, the company headquarters of our regional company, OMV Norge.
The Swedish company, Lundin, is the operator there, and the drilling activities are continued with a total of 10 production probes and production wells so that we can continuously increase production there. Our exploration results were disappointing last year. Even with an exploration and appraisal budget of more than €600,000,000 in 2015, we could only replace 44% of the proven reserves. In spite of our short term measures to cut costs, our production costs were cut by 20%. Our clean EBIT in Upstream sank by 92% to €139,000,000 This was offset by Downstream in our group, which had a strong clean CCS EBIT of €1,200,000,000 an increase over the previous year of 95%.
The improvement of the OMV refining reference margin from $3.3 to $7.2 per barrel helped to achieve this. But 1st and foremost, this success story is the result of our restructuring measures in downstream oil. We can rely on a proven integrated business model from the refinery all the way to the filling station and the petrochemical industry. The earning power was supported by a high degree of capacity utilization of 93%. This enabled us to fully utilize the beneficial and advantageous margin environment.
And the integration of Petrochemicals with Borealis is highly profitable. Ladies and gentlemen, that is the current situation. The refineries have developed into a cash engine of OMV in these difficult times. What's more, they have also helped feed the remainder of the group in 2015, thanks to the high cash flow and the good post tax results. The bad news is that the downstream gas business was suffering losses.
The continuously weak margin environment and losses from the valuation of forward deals led to a reduction of our results compared to the previous year. With hindsight, the capacity bookings of Econ Gas in the LNG terminal in Rotterdam have not been a good decision. That clearly leads to losses, and we're going to restructure this business. And the investments in gas power plants have not paid off, especially in the entire industry that did not pay off. Cheap coal, low point in the price of electricity and a badly designed energy strategy have unfortunately left their traces.
To summarize, OMV has really done a remarkable job in 2015 in spite of the fall of oil and gas prices, in spite of the difficult geopolitical circumstances and in spite of the already described difficult phase that our group is going through. We had to make significant write offs, and the results became negative. But on a clean basis, we have a good performance. The clean post tax earnings result was even higher than last year. I would like to thank all employees in the OMV Group who have really worked so hard and in such a committed way to achieve this result.
Of course, this challenging environment must have a strategic impact on OMV. In 2015, we revised our strategy at OMV. Our goal is quite clear. We need to make OMV fit for the future. We're going to work to improve cash flow and profitability.
What this means in concrete terms is to increase the value rather than to expand production. Cash flow is our priority. Our goal is to achieve a positive free cash flow after dividends. The payout ratio of 30% of the net profits will be maintained. We also need to analyze in an unrelenting way our core competencies prior to defining a strategic reorientation.
OMV has a strong integrated business model, which helps us to stay balance in difficult times and to survive. We have a strong position in downstream oil. In many areas, we have cost leaderships. In Downstream Gas. We are marketing experts.
We are marketing market leaders in Austria and Romania. Excellence in the production of oil and gas in mature fields in Romania and Austria, that is part of OMV's DNA. And more than 70% of our entire portfolio, we are operators and thus responsible for the cost structure, but also responsible for the technological management of projects. And this is where our opportunities lie. That is the strong side of OMV.
We clearly need to act in the field of profitability. The cost of our upstream portfolio are no longer tolerable. We should not delude ourselves. Make no mistake, we cannot survive that. We are sitting on expensive acquisitions and high long term investment obligations, especially in the North Sea.
And in recent years, we invested many 1,000,000 and 1,000,000,000 for a weak increase of production. Our budget for exploration and appraisal was raised almost €700,000,000 without a concomitant growth of our reserves. OMB Upstream, that is currently a permanent struggle against a downturn in production and reserves. That is a very challenging environment, but that too is what OMV is about. OMV needs a stringent austerity plan in terms of costs and CapEx.
To put it in clear terms, I want to have a breakeven for free cash flow as quickly as possible. What this means for all of us in OMV, focus on cash, focus on costs and focus on profitability. This unreasonable chasing after more and more volumes at the expense of value. It needs to be put to an end. No, we will put it to an end.
And this is why we are going to implement a group wide cost cutting and capital efficiency program. What this means in concrete terms is first, the reduction of investments in 20 16 by 40% over 2014 down to €2,400,000,000 2nd, cutting the exploration and appraisal budget from €700,000,000 by 35% to €450,000,000 And in the coming year, there will be a further cutback by 30% to €300,000,000 and thirdly, the reduction of the group costs by at least another €100,000,000 UmV needs cash. So we are going to take additional measures in addition to these internal measures, and we are going to sell some non strategic assets to secure cash flow. A minority share of up to 49% in the regulated transport company Gasconet Austria will be sold and up to 100% of shares of OMV Petro ofisi, the filling station and import terminal network of OMV in Turkey. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Gasconc Austria is a strong, a stable company and is highly attractive to financial investors.
Yes, GCA really is highly attractive. Regulation through the European Union limits our entrepreneurial influence and thus reduces our strategic relevance. In this sensitive infrastructure, we will keep a majority stake so we'll stay in control. The remaining 49% available for sale and will make an important and a substantial contribution to our cash position. Also the sale of the Turkish Petrolefise is the right decision.
Petrolefise is market leader in Europe's only big growth market, a top ranked brand, but for OMV, it is strategically isolated. And on top of that, it is in a difficult environment in terms of regulatory circumstances. The sale makes sense and improves the cash position of OMV. So cash is the top priority of strategic guideline for the reorientation of the Upstream business is focus, focus on cost and profitability. Going to the upstream needs to be repositioned and sustainably anchored.
The portfolio costs need to come down. The reserve replacement rate must rise dramatically. That is the only way that OMV has a future in the oil and gas business. Our strategy is focused on core regions and developing regions. Core regions, that is to say Austria and Romania, the North Sea, the Middle East and Africa, are producing more than 50,000 barrels per day on average and are self funded.
That is to say that necessary investments are financed completely from the local operative cash flow. That is our target. Our core regions, in some parts, high cost regions, exploration, development and production are cost intensive, especially in the North Sea, More than $40 per barrel, OMV is actually at the end of the list of costs. But this red lantern of being last in this ranking will definitely pass it on to somebody else. But we need our developing regions beyond cost management.
So the new central development region to us is Russia. With our future shares in blocks, ASHIMO 45, we can build up Russia to a key region. The transaction with our partner, Gazprom, gives us the opportunity of solving a number of problems. The share of reserves is in line with the 5 fold production annual production of OMB in 2015. Our dramatically low reserve replacement rate will be raised to beyond 100%, which is robust and healthy.
And what's good about this swap deal with Gazprom, it will cost us very little direct cash. Majority is covered by the asset swap. About 25% of ASHMO 4 and 5 will be swapped against OMVS. It's in the North Sea. And recently, we have laid the corners down for this deal in Petersburg.
The details will be negotiated in the coming months. And then the supervisory board will hear about the project, and we are going to request its approval. There are also big opportunities for OMV in the Middle East. In Abu Dhabi, we are part of a project of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, and the American Occidental. We provide know how when it comes to finding the 2 undeveloped oil and gas fields with an option for an investment in a joint venture.
Our OMV experts are currently elaborating a joint development concept for these deposits. It is on this basis that we can then assess the economic viability. This is a further step to intensify our cooperation with our partners in Abu Dhabi. In Iran, we also want to have a stable mooring of OMV. In the area around Zagros, together with the National Iranian Oil Company, we check on the possibility of developing oil fields together.
During the sanction regime, OMV had an office in Iran. Perseverance pays, and it pays to have a vision and foresight. Russia and the Middle East do not only hold significant reserves, they're also low cost regions. That applies to all important cost positions: acquisition, exploration, development and production. For a OMV that finally has a hunger for profitability, these regions are a clear must.
All of these measures are part of our strategy. We need to expand reserves. We need to produce at lower cost. We need to have more profound partnerships, and we need to focus more on stability and sustainability. Our strategic guideline to reorient the downstream business is called restructuring.
The trading company, ECOMGES, will be taken over completely. We're going to cut costs, use marketing excellence, have a more streamlined organization. And ecomgas will be switching to attack mode in European gas trading. Based on the motto OMV goes Europe, we want to expand its sales activities and also win new market shares in European neighboring markets. Some initial steps have already been successfully implemented.
We want to gain market share in Germany and in Europe even though that is difficult in light of the large amount of gas currently available in the market. The initial sales volume will lead to a better capacity utilization of the booked infrastructure capacities and thus make it possible to partially finance the fixed costs related to it. And thus, the profitability in this business will rise for us. The strategy for gas infrastructure, that is to say the transport business, is quite obvious. So we're going to invest in non regulated infrastructure, 1st and foremost.
This is why we are reducing our share in Gasconnecht Austria. This is why we want to take our 10% share in the non regulated pipeline project Nord Stream 2. The Nord Stream 2 project is attractive for us in several respects. We are investing in a project where from today's perspective, we believe there will be a secure high return are investing in an unbeatable strategy. We assume that Nord Stream 2 will lead to profits because we are paid for the capacity offered, not for the volumes that are transported by us.
And that with a complete security of transit because the pipeline links the Russian gas fields directly to the European final consumers. The capacity amounts to 55,000,000,000 cubic meters, almost 8x what Austrian needs on an annual basis. Another strategic advantage of OMV in terms of Nord Stream is our central hub at Baumgarten will be the final delivery point for most of the gas. And that is good for long term bookings for Gas Konnect Austria, and it strengthens the strategic role of OMV in ensuring the security of supply of Southeastern Europe. Nord Stream is a top priority to me because it marks a turning point in downstream gas.
Downstream oil has been successfully and consistently restructured in recent years and is therefore well positioned. The strategic orientation of downstream oil therefore remains essentially unchanged with the exception of the planned sale of OMV Petro Orfisi. Our integration along the value chain from upstream via our refineries to filling stations and petrochemicals constitutes an essential factor of success. We're going to continue along these lines and place a consistent focus on further profitability increases. Thus, we're going to strengthen our competitive edge and we'll continue to generate cash for the group.
Ladies and gentlemen, OMV will overcome its problems. We are identifying them. We're naming them. We are solving them. OMV has a future.
There are also some very good indicators, very valuable news. 1st, the change of strategy. We have designed a new strategy and we're in the process of implementing it step by step. The stations of previous weeks were Abu Dhabi, Tehran, St. Petersburg.
We agreed with our partners and the starting shot has been fired for our common projects. We are now going to continue to negotiate these projects to come to a conclusion. We solve our reserve problems and we improve our cost structure. We have partners we can rely on, both in Abu Dhabi and in Russia. 2nd, the portfolio.
With Romania and Austria, OMV has important anchors of stability in its portfolio. They still account for 2 thirds of our production, but also the North Sea region is picking up speed. 2015, the daily production rose to 50,000 barrels. The production will increase to 70,000 to 80,000 barrels. We have taken a production in Newfield at Ottergreig, and next year comes Gehelion, and in 20 18 comes Aasta Hansteen.
There will be Technology and Innovation. OMV is an oil and gas company with the potential of a technology and innovation group. Technologically and upstream, we're among the top group. We are good when it comes to extending the life of mature fields. We increase the production recovery rate.
Our engineers have developed technologies in order to significantly increase our oil recovery rate. We have done this successfully in in Austria with polymer injections. We're very strong and experienced when it comes to handling of heavy fuel oil production. The example of Sublak in Romania shows what wonderful job we're doing. We work in Libyan oilfields with gas injections in order to increase production and recovery rate.
OMV has expertise in the difficult handling of sour gas. We're doing this in Austria, but we are also a very demanded partner in Abu Dhabi. We have great technological expertise. Horizontal drilling in the Western field in Norway makes us more or less a world champion. Such drilling increases efficiency, lowers production costs and helps save additional drilling platforms.
We are proud of our engineers and technicians, our geologists. The research center at Gensendorf is state of the art. That's a wonderful asset of OMV, an asset that carries us forward to the future. In Downstream, OMV is more than an oil and gas company. We have pipelines, storage space, refineries.
Downstream with Borealis has an investment in a wonderful chemical company with a good positioning. For thus, this is a decisive extension of our integrated value chain. In 2015, this partnership was extended by another 10 years. Borealis is the company with most registered patents in Austria, a clear indication for competencies in the area of innovation. The scientists and collaborators of Borealis are shaping our future.
We'd like to thank them for that. And the future has only just started. We are doing research and we're working to develop new efficient organic components for fuels. That's an important future market from the ecological perspective. And once again, in terms of the ecological footprint, we are working to solve and eliminate the globally acute problem of plastic waste.
Plastic waste, the new raw material. We have an OMV patent with Austrian technology. That means economy and ecology in a one stop shop. That too is the future of OMV. For us, as an oil and gas company, it is important to act in a sustainable fashion to protect our collaborators, the environment and neighboring communities.
That means the economic responsibility of OMV does not end at generating profits and dividends. Our focus is placed on sustainable business. That is also demonstrated by the fact that in 2015, we got we're included in the renowned FTSIGLO Good Global Index, a leading index family in the field of sustainability and corporate governance. Thus, our achievements in the area of environment, social matters and governance were honored. This is just one of several ratings that we are especially pleased about.
More and more investors are asking us to demonstrate that we are acting in a sustainable fashion. That is also reflected in our shareholder structure. About 9% of our free float is held by socially responsible investors. Thus, we are above the average in the oil and gas sector. We continue to reduce our ecological footprint and the consumption of our valuable resources.
In 2007, we created the OMV Climate Protection Strategy, and we decided to reduce our direct greenhouse gas emissions with the help of efficiency increases in upstream and downstream by 1,000,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. We have all but reached this goal. Community projects also play an important role for OMV. They constitute the basis for good relations with our neighboring communities. Strengthen the local economy, and they preserve the societal acceptance of our business activities.
One example for that is our successful educational initiative, Osterreichsucht Detechnikweens. Austria is looking for the Queens of Technology. It was awarded the Medien Zukunftpreis, the future award for the Medien in 2015. In February of 2016, we already launched the 4th generation of our initiative. The objective is to create enthusiasm among young girls for a career in technology.
A way of conclusion, I would like to give you a short outlook to the year 2016. We expect that the oil price will be on average at US40 dollars per barrel. The gas market environment remains challenging with a continuing oversupply of European markets. There will be a downturn in Refining and Petrochemicals margins compared to the previous year. Another difficult year is waiting for our OMV.
Our
highly performing employees, however, are going to overcome this challenge Because, ladies and gentlemen, since I became the CEO of OMV in the summer of 2015, Day after day, I am impressed by the talent, the skills, the expertise and the commitment of our employees. Ladies and gentlemen, as said at the beginning, modern societies, future oriented economies, future proof locations need oil and gas. I described an OMV to you that is preparing for these very things and even more so an OMV that is capable of shaping this future. It is clear that we need all of you to achieve this, the shareholders, our employees, the Supervisory Board, but also politicians in order to create the boundary conditions. You're all part of this project and you need to contribute to its success.
We all need to pull in the same direction in order to lead your OMV into a secure future, to make it once again a wonderful company for Austria, then all of you are going to benefit the shareholders, business, consumers and employees. OMV stands for more than a secure low cost supply of energy for all. I want OMB to stand for opportunities, for progress and for innovation. OMV is part of Austria's future. Thank you.
I'd like to thank Mr. Sealy, CEO, for his very committed and comprehensive report. And I would like to ask Deputy CEO, Mr. Davis, the CFO, for his report. Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, allow me to present the most important financial data of the OMV Group 15 and the results of the Q1 2016. The IFRS Group financial statements and the individual accounts of OMV prepared under local GAAP received an unqualified auditors' opinion for 2015. On behalf of the OMB Group, I would like to thank Ernst and Young, which are Schachtsgrufung, EMBH for the good cooperation. Ladies and gentlemen, let us have a look at the financial year 2015.
2015, your company had to mask the major challenges. The financial markets were characterized by high volatility in 2015. We had a continuous excessive supply on the oil market, which had a negative influence on the oil price. The Brent crude oil price fell and at year end was USD 37 and was a third under the level of the beginning of the year. The clean CCS EBIT went down by 38% due to the significantly lower result of the Upstream segment.
This was only partly compensated by a better result of the Downstream segment. If we include inventory minus as well as special effects of €3,028,000,000 you arrive at a negative EBIT of €2,600,000,000 The negative special effects result from impairments upstream due to our reduced price expectations for the future. In addition, we had to book impairments for the gas power plant, Samsung, in Turkey the gas storage in Germany, Edsel and a further provision for the gate LNG obligation and the transport obligations. Low oil and gas prices had a negative effect on the upstream result. The EBIT before special effects went down to €139,000,000 as compared to €1,669,000,000 in the previous year, a significant decline by 92%.
The daily production of OMV oil and gas went down by 2% to 3,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day. The higher contribution of Norway was more than offset by production shutdowns in Libya and Yemen. Production costs excluding license fees went down by 20% to $13.24 per barrels of oil equivalent due to a favorable euro U. S. Dollar exchange rate and our strict cost management.
The Downstream segment had a very strong result amounting to 1,000,000,000, 1,78,000,000 This is due to a increased contribution of the downstream oil business. The main driver was the increased refinery result. The OMV reference refinery margin went up from $3.28 per barrel in 2014 to $7.24 per barrel in 2015. The capacity utilization was 93%, was very good. The Petrochemical and Retail business also was above the result of the year 2014.
The Downstream Gas result was at €30,000,000 due to a weak gas market environment and low gas volumes and low gas margins. The sold volumes decreased to 110 terawatt hours in 2015. In 2015, we saw that in a difficult market environment, the integrated business model of OMV is a major advantage. This slide shows the development of the net income of OMV in the past 5 years. The columns in blue show the development of the net income attributable to the shareholders of the parent company and the Clean CCS income.
The axis on the left hand side is in €1,000,000 The dividend per share is shown on the green line with the scale on the right hand side in euros, and we see a 5 year comparison here. The net income attributable to the shareholders of the parent company amounted to €1,100,000,000 and was below 2014. This negative development is due to the special effects that had to be booked. The Clean CCS EBIT is €1,148,000,000 and is above the level of 2014. The dividend proposed for 20.15 is €1 per share and was reduced by 20 percent due to the low oil price and the furthermore volatile market environment and market expectation.
The dividend yield based upon the closing price of the OMV share in 2015 amounts to 3.83%. This slide shows our financial priorities. Cash flow management remains a priority in the challenging environment. We are planning to have a broadly neutral cash flow after dividends. We also maintain our dividend policy with a long term payout ratio of 30% of the net income.
The credit ratings of BA 1 and Moody's A- of Fitch support the strong credit rating of the OMV Group and are in line with our goal to have a strong investment grade credit rating. By issuing hybrid bonds with a volume of €1,500,000,000 we strengthened our balance sheet 2015. The gearing ratio of 28% at the end of Let me continue with the investments that we made last year. As planned, we adapted our investment volumes due to low oil prices. The investment volume fell to €2,769,000,000,000 in 2015.
That was a decline of 28%. Upstream invested more than €2,000,000,000 especially in field developments in Norway, failed new developments, drillings and workover activities in Romania. The investment volume downstream remains below the level of 2014 at €608,000,000 In 2014, it was €850,000,000 The investment volumes in Corporate and Other was €21,000,000 EBITDA fell to €3,145,000,000 as compared to €4,134,000,000 in 2014. Ladies and gentlemen, here you see the development of the share price. You see the trend of the OMV share price represented by the green line, FTSE Global Energy and FTSE Eurotop represented by the dark and light gray line, respectively.
After a closing price of €22.01 in 2014, at the beginning of 20 15, we saw a downward trend. Afterwards, the price continuously rose. The share price of the OMV share rose by 19%, taking into account the payment of a dividend of €1.25 per share in May 2015, OMV shareholders arrive at a total shareholder return of +24 percent for 2015. For comparison's sake, the FUTU Global Energy Index, comprising the worldwide largest oil and gas company, fell by 24%. Austrian LEED Index, ATX, rose by 11% in 2015.
The market capitalization of the OMV share was €9,000,000,000 year end. Yesterday's closing price is a minus of 8% as compared to the end of 2015. Let us have a look at some key figures relating to the shares. As already said, due to the market environment, we propose a reduction of the dividend from 1.2 €5 last year to €1 for the fiscal year 2015 in order to account for the volatile environment. The dividend policy of OMV with a long term payout ratio of 30% of the net income remains unchanged.
Based upon the proposed dividend of €1,000 and on the basis of the closing price 2015 of 20 €6.13 we arrived at a dividend yield of 3.83%. The earnings per share for 20.15 fell to minus €3.37 The cash flow per share was €8.68 The book value per share as compared to 2014 remained stable at €0.3576 Let's have a short look at the highlights of the Q1 and the results of the Q1 2016. In the Q1 2016, the clean CCS EBIT was €167,000,000 The average Brent price in U. S. Dollar was €34 per barrel, 37% below the first quarter 2015.
The Upstream result fell by €130,000,000 to minus €97,000,000 This was caused 1st and foremost by the low oil and gas prices. The OMV total daily production of gas and oil was 312,000 barrels oil equivalent per day, 3% higher than in the Q1 2015. This was due to the higher production in Norway. The Clean CCS EBIT downstream fell by €35,000,000 in the Q1 2016 to €225,000,000 This is due to lower refinery margins and a weaker gas market environment and could only be partly compensated by a strong petrochemical result. The gearing ratio of the OMV Group was 29% at the 31st May 2016.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to give you the report according to Section 65, paragraph 3, Stock Corporation Act. Pursuant to the authorization given by the AGM on the 24th May 2,006, the Executive Board bought 1,322,390 NOPA Valu shares in 2,007 at a weighted average price of €39.97 After that, we had no buybacks of shares. In particular, in 2015 and since the 31st December 2015, no treasury shares were either bought or sold. In 2012, 120,095 NOPA Value Shares in 2013, 40,376 in 2014, 23,302 In 2015, 102,278 NOPA Value shares. And since the 31st December 2015 until today, a further 88,455 NOFA value shares were used for long term incentive plans and matching share plans.
The AGM of 17th May 2011 authorized the Executive Board to use treasury shares, including the treasury shares held by this time, to use them until the 6 13th May 2016 for long term incentive plans and stock option plans or to sell them via the stock exchange or by public bid. In addition, the Executive Board was authorized to call treasury shares or use them for convertible bonds, for share swap, for investments in other companies and for any other legally admissible purpose. A proposal for a resolution to authorize the Executive Board to use treasury shares until May 2021 for share transfer programs will be presented for approval in this AGM. The stock in treasury shares is 824,300 and 69 NOPA Value shares of a total of EUR327,000,000 2,72,000 727 NOFA value shares of the company. The share in the stock capital amounts 0 point 25, 19 percent for the treasury shares.
The weighted average price of the bought back treasury shares held by the company was €10.98 At the moment, there are no options on call. The Stock Option Plan 2,008 expired on 31st August 2015. At this time, 494,520 options were uncalled. The share in the stock capital amounts to 0.15%, 11%. Ladies and gentlemen, we are well aware of the fact that it is our common goal to make sure that OMV share remains a long term attractive investment.
In conclusion, I would like to point out to our new shareholders that they can register for the email service of OMV at the Investor Relations desk. You will get relevant information about our company via e mail in the framework of our Investor Relations program. I would like to thank you for your confidence and trust and pass the floor to Mr. Asar. Thank you.
Thank you, David Davis, for your report. Allow me to use this opportunity on behalf of the entire Supervisory Board to thank our Executive Board and all employees of OMV for their commitment, their personal contribution to this business here. And I would like to ask the CEO to pass on this expression of gratitude to the employees. At this point, I would like to say goodbye to our spectators on the Internet. We're now going to cut the