Fossil Energy – Gas Germany
Together with the Dutch company ONE-Dyas, Germany wants to exploit a gas field (N05-A) in the North Sea above Schiermonnikoog and the German Wadden Island of Borkum.
It was actually a no-go in Germany: drilling for gas above the Wadden Islands. But because of the impending gas shortages, but the Minister of Economic Affairs of the German state Nedersaksen made this announcement this morning. The Dutch government previously announced that it would not object to the proposed extraction.
The gas field is located more than 20 kilometers above the Wadden Islands in the North Sea. This is so-called low-calorific gas, comparable to the gas in Groningen, which is suitable for households in the Netherlands and parts of Germany.
The Netherlands still has a long-term supply contract with Germany that does not take into account the early closure of the Groningen field.
“We cannot afford to ask the Netherlands for more gas and continue to refuse to extract our own gas,” said Bernd Althusmann, minister of economic affairs in the state Nedersaksen.
The gas field is located under both the Dutch and the German seabed, now that Germany is participating, all the available gas can be extracted. The first gas will be pumped up within two years, Chris de Ruyter van Steveninck, director of ONE-Dyas thinks: “The potential of this field and the fields in the vicinity is about 60 billion cubic meters.”
Incidentally, the mayors of the Dutch and German Wadden Islands are strongly opposed to the arrival of the gas platform off the coast.
One-Dyas says to meet the opponents as far as possible. The gas is pumped using electricity from the nearby German wind farm Riffgat. The platform will be less high than usual so that it is less visible from the Wadden Islands. Although it is still visible in clear weather. “Just like the ships and the wind farm can be seen from time to time,” says De Ruyter van Steveninck. They also want to move the platform slightly because of the Borkumse Stones nature reserve.
One-Dyas hopes to be able to produce the first gas before the end of 2024. The cabinet still has to approve the project, but that seems like a formality.