Company wants to produce natural gas in the North Sea - risks for the Wadden Sea?

Created: 04/07/2022, 11:46 am

A look into the future: This is what the model of the gas platform on the Dutch side looks like – with a power supply cable from the German wind farm.

© One-Dyas

The Dutch company One-Dyas wants to produce gas in the North Sea near Borkum in the future.

Conservationists warn of the risks for the Wadden Sea.

Hanover/Borkum – A Dutch female voice and German subtitles should allay any worries.

"There are no significant effects on nature," promises the five-minute film on the German website of the Dutch company One-Dyas.

The company wants to produce 60 billion cubic meters of gas in the border area out in the North Sea.

The earthquake risk there is "negligible".

And the planned platform in front of the mouth of the Ems will not be a disruptive factor from a purely visual point of view either.

From the islands of Borkum and Schiermonnikoog, the oil rig, 20 kilometers away, is only visible 30 percent of the time, as hna.de reports.

One-Dyas wants to drill for natural gas in the North Sea - risks for the Wadden Sea possible

Conservationists warn against interference in the neighboring Wadden Sea World Heritage Site.

"The planned platform is just too close to the national park," criticized Borkum's mayor Jürgen Akkermann (independent).

Until recently, politicians in Lower Saxony shared these fears.

In October, the state parliament in Hanover, with the votes of GroKo and Greens, demanded a clear “no natural gas production in Lower Saxony’s coastal waters.” But Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine* changes everything.

In order to break away from energy imports from Russia, the gas field in the Dutch North Sea in Hanover has long been considered "part of the solution".

Economics Minister Bernd Althusmann confirms that the state government is in talks with One-Dyas.

His environmental colleague Olaf Lies (SPD) sees it the same way.

“We are in a completely different situation.

“The effects on nature and the environment must be carefully examined.

Lower Saxony could benefit from natural gas

The talks with the Dutch government and the private company One-Dyas are not just about safety standards and funding periods.

But also whether and how Lower Saxony * can benefit directly from the gas.

One Dyas CEO Chris de Ruyter van Steveninck sees good opportunities for this.

His company, which has been active in deposits off the Dutch and British coasts for decades, will meet all the requirements.

The group discovered the N05-A gas field in 2017.

This is mostly on Dutch territory.

The platform is to be built about 500 meters west of the border.

From here, the wells are to be sunk vertically and then diverted horizontally in the direction of Lower Saxony.

One-Dyas estimates the total potential at 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The company expects approval from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs for N05-A by the end of April.

The construction, drilling and laying of a 13-kilometer pipeline to the NGT line, which already runs along the coast, is expected to take a total of two years.

(Peter Mlodoch)

The East Frisian Islands represent an important factor for tourism in Lower Saxony*. And the war in the Ukraine is having an increasing impact on the Lower Saxony economy*.