Vienna - Austrian oil and gas group OMV AG announced Monday it would sell all its filling stations in Italy, saying it wanted to focus on Eastern Europe instead.

By retreating from the Italian market, the company is stepping up the restructuring of its filling station network.

By the end of the year, OMV will seek to sell its Italian daughter firm, which owns 96 stations located in the north of the country.

The company said it would focus on markets with higher growth potential like the Danube region, South-Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region.

"Conversely, the Italian market is highly saturated and offers little opportunity for further development," OMV said in a statement.

In Austria, OMV has sold some 60 of its 559 stations since early 2008. This year, an additional 70 will be placed on the market.

The Austrian oil and gas group owns 2,524 filling stations in 13 countries, with a focus on Central and South-Eastern Europe. (dpa)