The planned natural gas production off the North Sea islands of Borkum and Schiermonnikoog is controversial. Now a court in The Hague has made a decision on how to proceed with the project.
The Hague/Borkum - A Dutch court has banned construction work for the planned natural gas production in the North Sea off the islands of Borkum and Schiermonnikoog. The administrative court in The Hague ruled on Thursday that the approval granted by the government in The Hague was inadequate. The approval for gas production is not affected by the ruling; the ban only applies to the construction of a drilling platform. German Environmental Aid (DUH), other environmental organizations and the city of Borkum, among others, had sued against the construction plans. The court thereby confirmed an interim injunction from last year.
After the verdict, the defendant Dutch energy company One-Dyas announced that it would continue to press ahead with the project. A consortium around the company plans to extract natural gas from a field off the two North Sea islands. For this purpose, a production platform is to be built on Dutch territory around 23 kilometers northwest of the island of Borkum. According to the plans, funding is to be provided in both Dutch and German territories, near the Wadden Sea National Park in Lower Saxony.
Court: License for gas production is legal
Permits from both countries are therefore required for drilling. The Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands had already issued a license for this. An approval process is still ongoing on the German side. The Alliance for Environmental Aid filed a lawsuit against the approval on the Dutch side in July 2022. In April 2023, the court in The Hague temporarily banned construction work on the Dutch side in preparation for new gas drilling.
According to the ruling, the gas production license is legal. The responsible Ministry of Economic Affairs has sufficiently justified that gas production from small fields at sea is necessary in view of the energy transition and energy supply. However, the court criticized that the possible harmful consequences of the construction work for nature and animals had not been sufficiently investigated. The planned construction work could lead to increased nitrogen emissions - with possible harmful consequences for a nature reserve on Schiermonnikoog. The consequences for seals have also not been sufficiently investigated. The verdict can be appealed.
Environmental aid: Verdict marks “turning point” for climate protection
Environmental protection associations and the island of Borkum spoke of a “historic verdict” in a joint statement. The court's decision marks a "turning point in the fight for climate protection and the preservation of our nature," said Federal Managing Director Sascha Müller-Kraenner. “It is a clear signal that the protection of the UNESCO Wadden Sea World Heritage Site and other sensitive ecosystems takes priority over short-term economic interests.”
The verdict is therefore also a sign to finally phase out all fossil fuels. “To make this a reality, we are continuing to apply pressure and are now taking legal action against oil production on the Mittelplate production platform in the Wadden Sea National Park,” Müller-Kraenner continued. Oil has been produced in the North Sea from the Mittelplate drilling platform in Schleswig-Holstein since 1987.
Borkum's mayor Jürgen Akkermann was also satisfied with the announcement. “We are pleased that with this strong signal from The Hague, an important decision was made for climate and environmental protection, but also for coastal protection on the German and Dutch islands.” For the East Frisian islands, which lived exclusively from tourism and health care , possible earthquakes as a result of natural gas production, such as the recent one on land in the Diepholz district in Lower Saxony, would be devastating.
One-Dyas: First natural gas production possible by the end of 2024
One-Dyas, on the other hand, announced that the court had found the company “right on almost all points”. But there is also still “homework”, especially on the nitrogen issue. “We obviously have to continue to examine the verdict,” said One Dyas boss Chris de Ruyter van Steveninck. “We are pleased that the court ruling is positive in most environmental and climate aspects.”
The company noted that the production platform is almost ready for transportation. De Ruyter van Steveninck said they were ready to start work in the North Sea. “The goal is still to have the first natural gas available by the end of 2024.” After an installation period of several weeks, there will be a platform that will be operated with offshore wind energy from the Riffgat wind farm.
Repeated protests by environmentalists and islanders
Environmentalists and islanders had repeatedly demonstrated against the controversial natural gas extraction project. Greenpeace activists in particular caused a stir when they occupied the roof of the state parliament in Hanover last year to protest against the project. Critics fear that gas extraction could destroy the habitat of numerous endangered species such as soft corals and lobsters. Islanders are also worried about possible earthquakes as a result of gas production.
Lower Saxony's state policy had changed course on the issue: After the then government made up of the SPD and CDU strictly rejected gas production before Borkum 2021, it voted in favor of it a year later against the backdrop of the Ukraine war. The current Environment Minister Christian Meyer (Greens) recently stated that the project was currently not eligible for approval by his ministry. dpa