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Aerial view of Borkum: Gas should be able to be extracted around 20 kilometers from the island in the Wadden Sea National Park
Photo: Sina Schuldt / dpa
The war in Ukraine is turning many of the cornerstones of Germany's energy supply upside down.
Suddenly, the state government of Lower Saxony also believes that increased production of oil and gas from the German North Sea is worth striving for in the transition to renewable energies.
Specifically, it is about the production of natural gas in the North Sea off Borkum.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs in Hanover and the Dutch company One-Dyas, which wants to raise the mineral resources, have agreed on the key points of the project.
For example, the natural gas produced under German sovereign waters should be made available to the German market, according to the draft of a joint declaration.
Economics Minister speaks of national interest
The red-black state government had positioned itself against the project last summer.
In view of the uncertainties in the energy supply caused by the war in Ukraine, she moved away from this position and advocated a re-evaluation against the background of the dependence on Russian energy.
Lower Saxony's Minister for Economic Affairs, Bernd Althusmann, rejected concerns raised by environmental groups and the Greens in the state parliament.
"In my opinion, the environmental protection procedures, both on the Lower Saxony side and on the Dutch side, currently come to the conclusion that there is no danger to the environment," said the CDU politician.
The company plans to produce natural gas between the islands of Schiermonnikoog (Netherlands) and Borkum.
The area is close to the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.
This is sharply criticized by the Greens in the Lower Saxony state parliament, for example.
The volume of production is "far too insignificant and would come far too late to quickly break the dependency on Russian gas," the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" quoted MP Christian Meyer as saying.
Althusmann, on the other hand, argued that the project was "in the national interest": "The gas produced on the German side should be made available to the German market," he said.
And: "Natural gas production from the German production area should only be possible as long as there is a demand for natural gas in Germany."
According to the minister, One-Dyas also wants to give the State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG) “comprehensive control options”.
The state cabinet should decide on the current statement within the next two weeks.
The LBEG is then responsible for approving the plans.
Gas production could start in late 2024, according to One-Dyas.
Read more about the question of whether German oil and gas can be an alternative here.
apr/dpa