With fracking, part of the gas supply could come from national sources. But the technology harbors significant dangers.
Sometimes envious glances wander across the Atlantic to the USA. Americans have freed themselves from their dependence on oil and gas supplies from the Middle East over the past 20 years. They did this with fracking, a controversial technology used to extract oil and gas from underground rock formations. No wonder that there are supporters of fracking in this country too. The prospect of being able to break away from Russian pipelines by producing gas yourself seems tempting. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder has just called for this.
In fact, there is also a huge amount of gas slumbering in slate rocks in Germany’s subsoil. The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) estimated the potential in a 2016 study. After that, between 380 and 2340 billion tons of shale gas could be extracted. The institute gives an average of 800 billion cubic meters. If this amount were to be extracted from the ground, Germany could supply itself from its own sources for ten years. In view of the current supply crisis, that sounds tempting.
However, in contrast to conventional gas production, fracking is expensive and harbors considerable risks. The gas is trapped in shale rocks. If you want to extract it, you first have to dig deep. Water mixed with chemicals is then pumped down at high pressure, which breaks up the stone. The water mixed with the natural gas is then pumped back to the surface.
The catch with the technology is the risks to the environment. “The fracking technology can lead to contamination in the groundwater,” warns the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). There are also concerns about the use of chemicals and the necessary disposal of the waste water. The environmental risks are the main reason for skepticism about fracking. The Netherlands shows what can happen with conventional gas production. In Groningen, gas had been produced from a huge gas field since 1959, until small earthquakes started to occur more and more frequently. An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale was triggered by fracking in Canada. Britain has therefore given up fracking.
In Germany, this type of gas or oil production at great depths has been largely banned since 2017. Four scientific trials have been approved but have not yet been implemented. A distinction is made between conventional fracking and unconventional fracking. The latter flushes gas or oil from shale, clay, marl or coal seam rock. The boreholes do not go that deep, but close to the groundwater. That was completely banned.
Since the restriction by law, fracking no longer plays a role in Germany. The Federal Association for Natural Gas, Oil and Geoenergy (BVEG) regrets this. “Fracking offers the opportunity to secure the natural gas supply in Germany for a long time in the future,” the association assures. But the technology also lacks social acceptance. This was also evident quickly after Söder’s advance.
Germany’s Economics Minister Robert Habeck flatly rejected Bavaria’s demand. “I don’t think that’s the way we should go and that will help us,” the minister said. In view of the long approval times and the phase-out of fossil fuels that is planned anyway, the Greens cannot imagine getting into fracking. Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil from the SPD also rejects it. The largest shale gas reserves are in his area of responsibility. The gas industry has recognized that there is a lack of acceptance for this type of funding, says Weil. Söder only received support from the head of IG mining, chemicals, energy, Michael Vassiliadis, who spoke out in favor of fracking in northern Germany.
In Austria, the liberal think tank Agenda Austria recently suggested re-examining the potential of fracking. Ten years ago, OMV planned a pilot project in the Weinviertel, which failed due to resistance from the population. Pictures from the USA of burning tap water fueled fears. In this country, however, no harmful chemicals should be used, only sand and corn starch. Herbert Hofstätter, a professor at the Montan-Uni Leoben, developed the process. According to estimates from 2012, there is a huge shale gas reserve in northern Lower Austria, which could supply Austria for 30 years.
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