Bergermeer Gas Storage Project Receives Approval

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and its partner Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN B.V.), have received approval for the development of the Bergermeer gas storage facility in the Netherlands.

The ruling, issued from the Dutch Council of State, dismissed applications from evironmental and community groups, clearing the way for construstion to proceed on Europe's biggest natural gas storage site.

Work at the Bergermeer project, located around 40 kilometers outside Amsterdam, was halted in August 2011 when a court ordered the construction be suspended following complaints against the plan to use a depleted reservoir for gas storage.

Oppenents claimed that would increase noise levels, disrupt wildlife habitats and potentially increase the risk of seismic events.

The Council of State declared all objections to the plan and the permits "unfounded."

"Although experts could not give a realistic estimate of the risk of an earthquake, the chance was in any event considered no greater than that already incurred by extracting gas at the same location."

"Taqa has taken every possible measure to implement the project in a safe and responsible way and to minimise any disturbance," the company commented.

The Bergermeer facility will provide the northwestern European gas market with 4.1 billion cubic meters of open access seasonal storage: nearly doubling the Netherlands' total storage capacity.

TAQA and EBN plan an investment exceeding EUR800 million in the drilling of 14 new wells, the construction of the gas treatment installation in Alkmaar and the related pipelines.

Bergermeer is planned to be completed in 2015, with partial capacity expected to be ready by April 2014.

In December, TAQA and EBN announced that Statoil ASA, Vattenfall Energy Trading Netherlands N.V., and an unidentified third European energy company signed long-term contracts for Bergermeer of between four and 10 years, starting April 2015.