There has been a dispute for years about the extraction of natural gas in the North Sea off Borkum. A Lower Saxony authority has now approved the project by the One-Dyas group – but there are still hurdles.
The controversial natural gas extraction in the North Sea off the island of Borkum is getting closer. The Lower Saxony State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG) in Hanover has granted the Dutch energy company One-Dyas an 18-year permit for drilling under the seabed into German territory.
The state authority announced that the approval was granted after the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs had been examined and approved. It stipulated that the production would end early as soon as natural gas was no longer needed as an energy source due to the planned heat transition in Germany. “However, as long as natural gas is still consumed in Germany, the following applies: Natural gas extracted from domestic deposits is considerably less harmful to the climate than imported natural gas,” said LBEG President Carsten Mühlenmeier.
Germany and the Netherlands negotiate agreement
However, it has not yet been finally clarified whether gas drilling will actually take place near the Wadden Sea National Park in Lower Saxony in the future. On the one hand, an international agreement with the Netherlands is still required, as the gas is to be extracted in both Dutch and German territories. According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, the talks on this, which began in 2022, are still ongoing. A spokesperson did not provide any information on a possible target date.
On the other hand, it is expected that legal action will be taken against the planning approval decision on the German side. The German Environmental Aid (DUH) had already announced last year that it would go to court if the project was approved by the Lower Saxony authorities.
Up to 13 billion cubic metres of gas
The One-Dyas Group plans to start extracting natural gas from a field off the islands of Borkum and Schiermonnikoog this year. Drilling is planned at a depth of 1.5 to 3.5 kilometers. The expected extractable quantity of natural gas for the entire project is 4.5 to 13 billion cubic meters. To put this into perspective: according to the Federal Network Agency, around 81 billion cubic meters of gas were consumed in Germany last year alone.
Protests by Fridays for Future and islanders
Environmental protection associations and islanders in Germany and the Netherlands reject the project. They fear environmental damage to the Wadden Sea UNESCO World Heritage Site and the islands. They also believe that natural gas extraction is incompatible with climate goals. A few days ago, the climate protection movement Fridays for Future protested against the planned gas extraction on Borkum and in front of the Lower Saxony state parliament in Hanover.
Before the state agency’s decision, the Federal Environment Ministry had stated that it viewed the “cementation of fossil infrastructures” critically and that it viewed a possible approval “with concern in view of marine protection”.
Source: Stern
