German vice chancellor opposed to North Sea gas drilling plans
BERLIN, Aug 16 (Reuters) - German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck is against plans to drill for natural gas in the German-Dutch border area of the North Sea, he told Spiegel magazine in an interview excerpt published on Friday, saying it was not necessary for energy supply.
The state of Lower Saxony had cleared the way for the project in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which had left Germany scrambling to ensure its energy supply.
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The planned project is not necessary to secure Germany's energy supply, said Habeck, of the Greens environmental party that governs with the Social Democrats and pro-business FDP.
The preservation of nature and the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, seem to be "weighty arguments" against the realization of the drilling project, he added in the excerpt.
Privately owned Dutch company ONE-Dyas estimates that it can extract up to 13 billion cubic metres of gas from the N05-A gas field off the German island of Borkum over several years.
That would correspond to about 17% of the nearly 77 billion cubic metres that Germany consumed last year alone.
Habeck also expressed scepticism about the legal prospects of the project, which received authorization from state energy officials this week that would "certainly be contested."
An agreement is still being negotiated by Germany and the Netherlands because the waters of both would be affected.
(Reporting by Christian Kraemer, Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Rachel More)