Who is drilling for gas on the Lech?
Created: 12/15/2022, 2:00 p.m
By: Johannes Jais
In the 1980s, pure natural gas was found at a depth of around 3,100 meters at drilling point K2.
At that time, however, gas production was not economical and was discontinued.
© Mayr/MM
Reichling – Some Lechrain residents dug deep into the citizens' meeting regarding the planned gas production and geothermal energy.
They had a wealth of questions about the projects at Reichling after Eckhard Oehm, Managing Director of Genexco Gas, had presented the plans.
It was about noise, subsidence, jobs and drinking water protection.
The company Genexco Gas had applied for a production license in May.
At the beginning of October, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs then granted the Berlin company permission (KREISBOTE reported).
Minister Hubert Aiwanger explained that the intention was to exhaust all options in order to defuse the energy crisis.
Gas had already been searched for in the region between Landsberg and Schongau in the 1980s.
However, the funding projects were discontinued because they were not economical given the low gas prices at the time.
At that time, deposits in the Kinsau area were assumed.
That is why the drilling sites were called Kinsau I and Kinsau II, even though they were to the east of the Lech.
The designations remain.
At the Reichlinger citizens' meeting, the 200 interested parties could see three drilling points on a map - one green and two red.
The green one is Kinsau 1, located in the southeast of Reichling and shows the location for the gas well.
Kinsau 2 (near the Lech) and Kinsau 3 (east of Reichling) are suitable for thermal drilling.
Genexco boss Oehm described that the gas production begins at a depth of 3,000 to 4,000 meters in layers with Jura limestone.
You want to get to this depth by opening up the strands that were filled with concrete four decades ago.
"Concrete drills more easily than hard rock," said Oehm.
Regarding the schedule, the managing director explained that after the "exploration permit" issued in October and after a preliminary assessment of environmental compatibility in the coming year, the clarification with the South Bavarian Mining Authority would take place, seismic data would be evaluated and a drilling plan would have to be drawn up.
Despite the license, the latter requires another permit.
Funding is expected to start in 2025.
connection variants
The plan is to bring the extracted gas to customers via the regional supplier – that is Energie Schwaben.
The connection can be made at Denklingen near the Hirschvogel company, near Landsberg or near Schongau, Oehms called the variants for lines, for which the prior consent of the landowner was required.
Plan B is to liquefy the gas, clean it, separate the water and cool it to minus 165 degrees.
Then it can be taken to customers by truck.
The locations K2 and K3 - the K stands for Kinsau - are suitable for geothermal energy.
The water is over 100 degrees hot, with an occurrence of 60 liters per second.
However, such a project is very expensive.
The alternative would be a TEWS, a deep geothermal probe.
According to Oehms, this is "very efficient" in order to supply new areas.
Around 10,000 square meters of heatable area could be covered with it.
This map presented at the town meeting shows where the locations for the three drill points are.
© Jais
A public question was whether the safety of the drinking water was guaranteed with the well in the Bach–runzel.
The Genexco boss confirmed this.
The drinking water is at a depth of 30 meters, while the borehole reaches a good 3,000 meters into the ground.
A water protection or nature reserve will not be touched.
In addition, there are clear guidelines from the mining authorities, as they apply to all 5,000 deep wells in Germany.
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My space
One listener asked if the project could cause damage to nearby homes.
Oehm's answer was that the gas and heat extraction was taking place in a 20 meter high layer at a depth of 3,000 meters.
There you don't have such great extraction depths as in Holland, where there are up to 600 meters difference in altitude.
A Genexco employee said the company would be liable for damage from the well.
Another citizen hardly saw any advantages with two technical and one commercial employees.
"What about the trade tax?" It was said that it would accrue to the community.
Mayor Johannes Leis added that Reichling had a right of veto.
And he pointed out that Germany also needs domestic gas – just like wind energy and PV systems.
The subjects of gas production and geothermal energy were discussed at the town meeting for a good hour.
Shortly after 11 p.m. a woman called out: Given the wealth of information and questions, a separate meeting just for this project should be held.