diff --git a/cinder/volume/drivers/vmware/vmdk.py b/cinder/volume/drivers/vmware/vmdk.py
index 20cdc5933a2..e894ef289c5 100644
--- a/cinder/volume/drivers/vmware/vmdk.py
+++ b/cinder/volume/drivers/vmware/vmdk.py
@@ -32,11 +32,16 @@ from oslo_log import log as logging
 from oslo_utils import excutils
 from oslo_utils import units
 from oslo_utils import uuidutils
-from oslo_vmware import api
-from oslo_vmware import exceptions
-from oslo_vmware import image_transfer
-from oslo_vmware import pbm
-from oslo_vmware import vim_util
+try:
+    import oslo_vmware
+except ImportError:
+    oslo_vmware = None
+else:
+    from oslo_vmware import api
+    from oslo_vmware import exceptions
+    from oslo_vmware import image_transfer
+    from oslo_vmware import pbm
+    from oslo_vmware import vim_util
 import six
 
 from cinder import exception
@@ -268,6 +273,11 @@ class VMwareEsxVmdkDriver(driver.VolumeDriver):
         :param context: Context information
         """
 
+        if oslo_vmware is None:
+            msg = _("Missing 'oslo_vmware' python module, ensure the library"
+                    " is installed and available.")
+            raise exception.VolumeDriverException(message=msg)
+
         # Throw error if required parameters are not set.
         required_params = ['vmware_host_ip',
                            'vmware_host_username',
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 8fb04cc87f5..d2a2f1e32fc 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -50,5 +50,4 @@ stevedore>=1.5.0 # Apache-2.0
 suds-jurko>=0.6
 WebOb>=1.2.3
 oslo.i18n>=1.5.0 # Apache-2.0
-oslo.vmware>=1.16.0 # Apache-2.0
 os-brick>=0.3.2 # Apache-2.0
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index c7f7e5e26be..f5190acd3d4 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ setup-hooks =
 packages =
     cinder
 
+[extras]
+vmdk =
+  oslo.vmware>=1.16.0 # Apache-2.0
+
 [entry_points]
 cinder.scheduler.filters =
     AvailabilityZoneFilter = cinder.openstack.common.scheduler.filters.availability_zone_filter:AvailabilityZoneFilter
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 6dc68978d94..5ee31eb48a3 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ install_command = pip install {opts} {packages}
 
 deps = -r{toxinidir}/requirements.txt
        -r{toxinidir}/test-requirements.txt
+       .[vmdk]
 
 # By default ostestr will set concurrency
 # to ncpu, to specify something else use