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Wintershall: Positive signal for domestic crude oil and natural gas production
Opening of the new global drill core warehouse in Barnstorf, Lower Saxony, underlines the future viability of oil and gas as
energy sources
11.07.2012 + + + Domestic production is becoming
increasingly significant in the global race for rude oil and natural gas.
Natural gas produced in Germany covers about 15 percent of the country’s
overall requirements – this equals the annual consumption of more than
six million single-family homes. At the same time, the very demanding
geological and legal conditions in Germany mean that the domestic
production of oil and gas also creates continuous innovation, which also
makes its mark internationally. “Domestic production is indispensable,
for supply security begins on our own doorstep,” Rainer Seele, Chairman
of the Board of Executive Directors of Wintershall, said today at the
opening ceremony of the new global drill core warehouse at the company’s
operations in Barnstorf. “Our work here in Germany also forms the basis
for innovation and advanced technology with which we can prosper globally
and forge international partnerships,” Dr Seele explained. This is
complemented by our world-renowned expertise in handling strict
environmental standards on a daily basis. However, it is not just
consumers and companies that benefit from local production; but also the
German states and the municipalities. “The oil and gas companies are an
important employer there and often the largest trade tax contributors,”
Seele said.
About 95 percent of Germany’s natural gas production and a large share
of domestic crude oil come from Lower Saxony. “Our activities in and
around Barnstorf make a key contribution to Germany’s energy supply and
to the research that Germany needs,” Dr Seele explained. The crude oil
works in Barnstorf in Lower Saxony, where there are over 350 employees,
are at the
center of Wintershall’s exploration and production activities. Today’s
opening ceremony for the global drill core warehouse reinforces the
central role of Barnstorf.
For Dr Seele there is major future potential in natural gas production at
the Barnstorf site, especially in the project “Düste Z 10”. The
exploration well of the same name was completed in May 2012. Experts at
Wintershall are currently analyzing the geology of the rock samples
gathered and the results of the physical tests to see whether the assumed
recoverable reserves of about ten billion cubic meters of natural gas can
actually be extracted. “If they can, Wintershall could continue
producing natural gas at the Barnstorf site for several more decades,”
Joachim Pünnel, Head of Wintershall’s activities in Germany, said. If
successful, the entire reservoir in the district of Diepholz could be
developed from 2015. The gas deposit contains so-called tight gas, which
is stored in layers of rock deep underground made of compact sandstone,
and can be produced with the hydraulic fracturing method. Wintershall has
already been producing tight gas in Lower Saxony for more than 30 years
with the help of this tried-and-tested technology – as well as in the
Netherlands, Russia and Argentina. Seele explained that what was important
in the use of this method was ensuring the technology was also compatible
with ecological considerations. Wintershall works with high environmental
standards as a matter of principle and ensures a maximum level of environmental protection and transparency by means of a
voluntary commitment. An application to the State Mining Office is
currently being prepared.
“With our new drill core warehouse, we are bringing the expertise of our
global activities closer together in Barnstorf,” the Wintershall CEO
explained. To this end, a new warehouse was built at a cost of more than a
million euros, and which can now hold more than 70,000 meters of drill
cores from all round the world. These rock samples come from the global
research and production activities of Wintershall and will be stored and
analyzed properly in Barnstorf. According to Seele, the new drill core
warehouse is a clear sign of the future viability of oil and gas,
particularly in Germany, and of the Barnstorf operations: “After all,
even if we are active and travel all round the world, Barnstorf is the
home of our production activities,” he explained.
Source: Wintershall - www.wintershall.com
See also: Wintershall at a glance
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