Shale Gas Debate Prevents Conventional Projects in Germany, Says Wintershall

The shale gas debate is a threat for domestic conventional explorations in Germany, said Wintershall on Tuesday, adding that local production posted a 6% decrease in 2014.

"For more than three years now, the ongoing discussion on shale gas has prevented projects from being approved that require the use of fracking even for conventional gas production. This is therefore blocking established natural gas production" reads a note released by Wintershall.

Lower Saxony is the German region that witnessed the majority of the exploration over the last years.  

“The project backlog is not only threatening domestic supply security but is also putting jobs at risk, especially in Lower Saxony,” Andreas Scheck, head of Wintershall’s activities in Germany said on Tuesday.

According to the German company, this could pose a risk for the industry, endangering 20,000 jobs. Wintershall, subsidiary of BASF, also mentioned a recent study of the Association of German Crude Oil and Natural Gas Producers (WEG), which claimed that 1 billion € worth of investments are currently on hold. 

According to Scheck, more than a third of conventional natural gas produced in Germany has been recovered with the use of fracking. 

"The strengthening of Germany’s supply security depends not just on the possible production of shale gas reserves in the future but above all on established, conventional production" Scheck added.

Last October, Wintershall announced its intention to focus on oil and gas production, selling its 15.79% share in Verbundnetz Gas (VNG) to EWE for €320 million.