German gas production fell by 8.1% to 7.9 bcm in 2016, down from 8.6 bcm in 2015, according to industry association BVEG, which released the figures on March 2nd. German gas producers have been trying to maintain production, but face dwindling conventional reserves.
The country is believed to have large unconventional reserves, however, and the authorities there have been involved in years of debate over the use of fracking technology to access untapped shale gas. But last summer, the government passed a law imposing limits on fracking – just as Europe began importing fracked shale gas in the form of LNG from the US.
BVEG members have also had to contend with a slowdown in the licencing of new conventional projects, due to a general unwillingness to develop hydrocarbon reserves domestically. As a result, the country is becoming increasingly dependent on gas and other energy imports. Germany sourced just 8% of its gas demand from domestic sources last year, down from 10% in 2015, and imported the rest – with the biggest supplier being Russia’s Gazprom, followed by producers in Norway.
German hydrocarbon producers involved in BVEG include BEB Erdgas und Erdoel, Mobil Erdgas-Erdoel, DEA, formerly part of RWE, Engie E&P Deutschland and BASF’s Wintershall.
