Fracking demand from Bavaria: "Is it still possible?!" - Because fires against Söder

Created: 08/01/2022, 10:08 am

By: Anika Zuschke

Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Weil reacted angrily to Söder's proposal to examine the use of fracking gas in northern Germany.

(kreiszeitung.de-Montage) © Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Sven Hoppe/Julian Stratenschulte/dpa

Where is Germany supposed to get enough natural gas for the winter during the gas crisis?

Söder proposes fracking – this meets with extreme resistance from Weil.

Hanover – Since Russia sharply reduced gas supplies to Germany, the Federal Republic has been in a dramatic gas crisis, which is determined by the pressing question: "Where does Germany get enough gas for the winter?" Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) thrown into the room - with a special view of northern Germany.

Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil, however, reacted quite angrily to the advice from the south.

Does the gas crisis cause fracking in Germany?

Söder makes a suggestion that causes Weil to feel bad

Just yesterday, July 29, 2022, in an interview with the

, Markus Söder called for Germany to think about using its own gas capacities.

“Nobody wants yesterday’s fracking.

But it makes sense to check whether there are new and environmentally friendly methods," said the Bavarian Prime Minister of the daily newspaper.

"Especially in Lower Saxony" he sees "large natural gas fields".

This is reported by kreiszeitung.de.

What is fracking?

Fracking is a process by which natural gas can be extracted from impermeable rock.

The rock is often clay rock, which is why, according to

, it is also colloquially referred to as shale gas.

In order to be able to release the gas from the rock, the subsoil must first be broken up.

A mixture of water, quartz sand or ceramic beads and various chemicals is then pressed into the bore at extremely high pressure.

Since the method is considered environmentally harmful and controversial, fracking gas is also known as "unconventional natural gas".

But the state SPD around Prime Minister Stephan Weil categorically excludes such controversial drilling - which is why he immediately reacted to the proposal via Twitter.

"'The South demands fracking in the North,'" Weil quoted the

as saying and publicly snubbed himself with an indignant "Is it still possible?!".

"Dear Markus Söder, how about finally wind power in Bavaria?" Instead, the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony shoots at his Bavarian counterpart on Twitter.

Lower Saxony resists fracking in Germany – “unimaginable”

Bernd Althusmann, Lower Saxony's economics minister and CDU top candidate for the state elections on October 9, also expressed his opposition to fracking just a few days ago.

"Fracking in unconventional natural gas deposits is currently prohibited nationwide," Althusmann said, according to

.

According to him, before entering this controversial technology, all other options should first be exhausted.

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According to SPD energy minister Olaf Lies, fracking in the deep slate rock is even “unimaginable”, as the

reports.

Fracking is considered environmentally harmful and dangerous - but could provide missing gas in the gas crisis

The background to the heated debate in politics is that, according to the

, during fracking gas or oil is extracted from rock layers using pressure and chemicals, which poses dangers to the environment.

For this reason, “unconventional” fracking in shale rock, for example, has been banned since 2017.

, fracking is only

still practiced in sandstone layers in Germany.

However, according to the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), the largest deposits of shale gas are in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and on Rügen - which is why Söder referred to northern Germany in his fracking advice.

According to

, domestic natural gas production can only be increased significantly using the "unconventional" method of fracking.

Controversial fracking causes a political debate between northern and southern Germany

However, there is a lot of criticism of the method due to aspects that are harmful to nature and the climate.

Fracking in shale rock could pollute groundwater, and the method also triggers earthquakes.

In addition, according to the

, it is unclear what happens to the fracking fluid underground and what damage the chemicals can cause there.

“In Germany, fracking is banned for good reason,” Claudia Kemfert, head of the energy department at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), told the

, continuing: “Fracking is expensive, risky, poses enormous environmental risks and damages the climate. For these reasons, alternatives such as LNG terminals and the expansion of wind power have so far been used to generate additional energy.