diff --git a/ebos/eclbasevanguard.hh b/ebos/eclbasevanguard.hh
index 33d54625b..e2029814e 100644
--- a/ebos/eclbasevanguard.hh
+++ b/ebos/eclbasevanguard.hh
@@ -62,11 +62,10 @@ NEW_PROP_TAG(Grid);
 NEW_PROP_TAG(EquilGrid);
 NEW_PROP_TAG(Scalar);
 NEW_PROP_TAG(EclDeckFileName);
-NEW_PROP_TAG(EclOutputDir);
+NEW_PROP_TAG(OutputDir);
 NEW_PROP_TAG(EclOutputInterval);
 
 SET_STRING_PROP(EclBaseVanguard, EclDeckFileName, "");
-SET_STRING_PROP(EclBaseVanguard, EclOutputDir, ".");
 SET_INT_PROP(EclBaseVanguard, EclOutputInterval, -1); // use the deck-provided value
 
 END_PROPERTIES
@@ -101,8 +100,6 @@ public:
     {
         EWOMS_REGISTER_PARAM(TypeTag, std::string, EclDeckFileName,
                              "The name of the file which contains the ECL deck to be simulated");
-        EWOMS_REGISTER_PARAM(TypeTag, std::string, EclOutputDir,
-                             "The directory to which the ECL result files are written");
         EWOMS_REGISTER_PARAM(TypeTag, int, EclOutputInterval,
                              "The number of report steps that ought to be skipped between two writes of ECL results");
     }
@@ -243,31 +240,6 @@ public:
             summaryConfig_ = externalSummaryConfig_;
         }
 
-        // retrieve the location set by the user
-        std::string outputDir = EWOMS_GET_PARAM(TypeTag, std::string, EclOutputDir);
-
-        // update the location for output
-        auto& ioConfig = eclState_->getIOConfig();
-        if (outputDir == "")
-            // If no output directory parameter is specified, use the output directory
-            // which Opm::IOConfig thinks that should be used. Normally this is the
-            // directory in which the input files are located.
-            outputDir = ioConfig.getOutputDir();
-
-        // ensure that the output directory exists and that it is a directory
-        if (!boost::filesystem::is_directory(outputDir)) {
-            try {
-                boost::filesystem::create_directories(outputDir);
-            }
-            catch (...) {
-                 throw std::runtime_error("Creation of output directory '"+outputDir+"' failed\n");
-            }
-        }
-
-        // specify the directory output. This is not a very nice mechanism because
-        // the eclState is supposed to be immutable here, IMO.
-        ioConfig.setOutputDir(outputDir);
-
         // Possibly override IOConfig setting for how often RESTART files should get
         // written to disk (every N report step)
         int outputInterval = EWOMS_GET_PARAM(TypeTag, int, EclOutputInterval);
@@ -276,6 +248,7 @@ public:
 
         asImp_().createGrids_();
         asImp_().filterConnections_();
+        asImp_().updateOutputDir_();
         asImp_().finalizeInit_();
     }
 
@@ -391,6 +364,32 @@ public:
     { return std::unordered_set<std::string>(); }
 
 private:
+    void updateOutputDir_()
+    {
+        // update the location for output
+        std::string outputDir = EWOMS_GET_PARAM(TypeTag, std::string, OutputDir);
+        auto& ioConfig = eclState_->getIOConfig();
+        if (outputDir == "")
+            // If no output directory parameter is specified, use the output directory
+            // which Opm::IOConfig thinks that should be used. Normally this is the
+            // directory in which the input files are located.
+            outputDir = ioConfig.getOutputDir();
+
+        // ensure that the output directory exists and that it is a directory
+        if (!boost::filesystem::is_directory(outputDir)) {
+            try {
+                boost::filesystem::create_directories(outputDir);
+            }
+            catch (...) {
+                 throw std::runtime_error("Creation of output directory '"+outputDir+"' failed\n");
+            }
+        }
+
+        // specify the directory output. This is not a very nice mechanism because
+        // the eclState is supposed to be immutable here, IMO.
+        ioConfig.setOutputDir(outputDir);
+    }
+
     Implementation& asImp_()
     { return *static_cast<Implementation*>(this); }
 
diff --git a/ebos/eclproblem.hh b/ebos/eclproblem.hh
index 357ef3151..88c4fc96c 100644
--- a/ebos/eclproblem.hh
+++ b/ebos/eclproblem.hh
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ SET_BOOL_PROP(EclBaseProblem, EnableAsyncEclOutput, true);
 SET_BOOL_PROP(EclBaseProblem, EclOutputDoublePrecision, false);
 
 // The default location for the ECL output files
-SET_STRING_PROP(EclBaseProblem, EclOutputDir, ".");
+SET_STRING_PROP(EclBaseProblem, OutputDir, ".");
 
 // the cache for intensive quantities can be used for ECL problems and also yields a
 // decent speedup...
@@ -392,6 +392,12 @@ public:
                              "The frequencies of which time steps are serialized to disk");
     }
 
+    /*!
+     * \copydoc FvBaseProblem::prepareOutputDir
+     */
+    std::string prepareOutputDir() const
+    { return this->simulator().vanguard().eclState().getIOConfig().getOutputDir(); }
+
     /*!
      * \copydoc FvBaseProblem::handlePositionalParameter
      */