Gas project in the North Sea
Natural gas bores in front of Borkum are allowed to begin
For years there has been a dispute whether natural gas can be funded in the North Sea off the island of Borkum. Now an authority has made a decision for funding in German territory.
The Dutch energy group One-Dyas can now drill to natural gas in the North Sea off the island of Borkum in German territory. The responsible Lower Saxony State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG) has approved an immediate enforcement for the holes requested by the company. This means that the company can start the holes immediately, says an LBEG spokesman.
The authority had already granted approval for this last year, but German environmental aid complains. So far, this lawsuit has had a suspensive effect. In the Dutch area, one-dyas had already started to promote natural gas in March with a test phase.
The State Mining Authority leads several reasons for the immediate execution, among other things it spoke of an “predominant public interest in a safe energy supply”.
Environmental associations and also parts of the Lower Saxony state government are against the new gas funding, which takes place in an area near the Wadden Sea National Park. There is a great concern on Borkum that gas production could also have environmental consequences for the island and the neighboring UNESCO World Heritage Site Wadden Sea. The conveying platform built is around 20 kilometers before the island.
dpa
Source: Stern
