Permit for natural gas field off Borkum extended

The companies ONE-Dyas and Hansa Hydrocarbons want to explore for and extract hydrocarbons in the coastal waters of the German North Sea in Lower Saxony. The Lower Saxony State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG) has now issued a permit to this effect.

According to the LBEG, a permit has also been extended for the two companies from the Netherlands and Great Britain to explore for hydrocarbons for commercial purposes. The partners are pushing ahead with this venture together with the Lower Saxony mining company Neptune Energy Germany. The two fields are located around 20 to 70 kilometers northwest of the East Frisian island of Borkum.

The permit for the NB3-0001-00 natural gas field was issued for the period June 1, 2022 to December 31, 2042. However, this will end prematurely if there is no longer any domestic demand for natural gas in Germany. For the NE3-0005-01 permit field, the permit runs between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2025.

"We had to weigh the public interests very carefully in these procedures," LBEG President Carsten Mühlenmeier said. "Ultimately, however, the Russian war of aggression showed that the public interest of security of supply has a clearly overriding role."

In order to explore for and extract natural gas, it is necessary to have a corresponding mining license. The LBEG emphasizes that the granting of the authorization does not yet permit any technical measures, such as horizontal drilling. This requires a planning approval procedure with environmental impact assessment and public participation, which is already underway.