Minister of Economy Habeck rejects gas drilling in Borkum - criticism from FDP
The Dutch company One Dyas plans to install a gas production platform in Dutch territorial waters. Some of the drilling beneath the seabed will occur in German territorial waters. The Lower Saxony State Agency for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG), responsible for the relevant environmental assessments, has no objections.
According to the agency, the planned drillings will take place at depths of 1500 to 4000 meters below the seabed and will not extend into any protected areas. Neither the residents of the North Frisian Islands and the mainland nor the Wadden Sea protected area will be affected. The agency also pointed out Germany's gas demand and the fact that imported gas has a worse climate balance.
However, an intergovernmental agreement with the Netherlands is still needed to actually produce gas, for which the Federal Ministry of Economics, headed by Habeck, is responsible. A swift signing is not planned, as Habeck hinted. He stated that lawsuits against the drillings are to be expected, and the federal government will await the relevant court rulings. He told "Der Spiegel".
Environmental organizations such as the German Environmental Aid have already announced legal resistance against the gas plans off Borkum. The mayor of the North Sea island, Jürgen Akkermann, also criticized the green light given by the LBEG. "We will now thoroughly examine the plan approval decision and, of course, consider legal steps," he explained.
However, the FDP MP Reinhard Houben criticized the immediate rejection of the planned gas drillings off Borkum. "This not only jumps ahead of the legal proceedings but also does not do justice to the new global situation," he said. The plans to extract natural gas at the Dutch-German border in the North Sea have existed for years. However, they were largely shelved before the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Habeck, as the head of the Federal Ministry of Economics, will play a crucial role in securing the necessary intergovernmental agreement with the Netherlands for gas production. Despite hinting at a delayed signing, legal challenges against the drillings off Borkum are anticipated, and Habeck is prepared to wait for the relevant court rulings.
Environmental activists, including German Environmental Aid, have announced plans to legally resist the gas drilling plans off Borkum, echoing the concerns of Borkum's mayor, Jürgen Akkermann.
