German ministry tables ban on new oil and gas projects in protected maritime zones

The German environment ministry has submitted for consultation a draft law prohibiting future oil and gas extraction projects in protected zones of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, energy policy newsletter Tagesspiegel Background reported. Environment minister Carsten Schneider from the Social Democrats (SPD) has made an end to future licensing a prerequisite for his ministry’s consent to an existing project on the Dutch-German sea border off the island of Borkum. 

The gas extraction project run by Dutch company One Dyas straddles both countries’ territories, meaning authorities in Germany and the Netherlands had to issue permits. The project only received the go-ahead after several delays due to lawsuits challenging its legitimacy on the grounds of potential damages to the sensitive ecosystem of the Wadden Sea. Minister Schneider approved the agreement with the Netherlands in October, but he demanded that it be followed by a law banning new permits for oil and gas drilling in protected maritime zones. Renewable power installations and the extraction of sand and gravel would still be permitted under the environment ministry’s draft law, Tagesspiegel Background reported.

The law changes originally published in late September would tighten regulation on fossil fuel extraction in several areas in Germany’s sections of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, but environmental groups warned during the consultation that legal loopholes would still allow companies to circumvent bans. Environmental Action Germany (DUH) said in a statement to parliament that projects could still receive licensing if they are classified as being of “overriding public interest.” This gives authorities flexibility in interpreting which projects could still get the go-ahead in the future, as happened with the One Dyas project, DUH argued. Extractive industries lobby group BVEG said the law would “generally value oil and gas extraction lower than maritime protection,” which would mean a disadvantage for industry interests.

Germany covers around five percent of its gas demand from domestic supplies, which have been falling since the early 2000s. New gas projects are unlikely to significantly alter the share of domestic production in total gas supply.