Germany’s oil and gas production slides in 2018
Clean Energy Wire
Germany’s domestic extraction of oil and natural gas has slumped last year, further increasing the country’s already heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels. According to data by the country’s Federal Association of Natural Gas and Oil (BVEG), Germany covered a mere seven percent of its natural gas demand with domestic production in 2018 because extraction fell around 14 percent to 6.3 billion cubic meters. Oil production also fell slightly, to 2.1 million tonnes. Germany’s total reserves amounted to 50.3 billion cubic meters natural gas and 29 million tonnes oil, according to the association, which said Germany’s coal exit agreement had shown that “natural gas will be needed for decades to come.”
Germany's coal exit commission has proposed to substitute some of the coal power capacity that is going to be decommissioned over the next years with natural gas plants until the country has sufficiently expanded its renewable power production capacity. However, the actual need for more natural gas capacity is disputed among experts, some of which are saying that using gas as a "bridge technology" on the way to carbon-neutral economy is not necessary.
