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A state authority in the German state of Lower Saxony Dutch energy company ONE-Dyas permission to start drilling for gas in the North Sea, in the latest move in the long process around a聽contentious聽extraction plan.

The project, under the seabed in an ecologically protected area off the German island of Borkum, had faced聽several delays through legal action brought by climate groups. The Lower Saxony State Office for Mining, 麻豆无码版 and Geology (LBEG) has now, however, granted ONE-Dyas immediate permission to start drilling, saying it was in the public interest to reduce dependence on gas imports from regions outside the EU.

Still, climate groups have said that Germany鈥檚 gas supply is secure without the project, and that it is located in a very sensitive natural area which could be permanently damaged.听

The gas platform is located on Dutch territory, yet some drilling would extend under the seabed to German territory, which is why approval from Germany was needed, too. The LBEG explained that the drilling would not penetrate the seabed in Germany. Instead, it would happen at a depth of 1,500 to 4,000 meters, almost horizontally from the Dutch side of the border.

鈥淭he fact that the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition has no qualms about pushing ahead with new gas projects shows that the profits of gas companies are more important to them than all the people affected by the consequences of the climate crisis,鈥� said Yasin Hinz of Fridays for Future.

Germany聽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.听At the beginning of July, Germany鈥檚 new government signed an agreement with the Netherlands to exploit natural gas resources in the North Sea. At the same time, the聽environment ministry proposed to ban oil and natural gas drilling in marine protected areas along the country鈥檚 coast.