Haidach gas storage is an underground natural gas storage in the town of Haidach near Salzburg, Austria. As of the end of 2018 with a capacity of ~2.9 billion cubic meters (bcm) it is the third largest (after Rehden with volume of ~4.7bcm and Bergermeer of ~4.5bcm of capacity) gas storage facility in Central Europe. [1]
In 1997, Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft (RAG) discovered the Haidach gas reservoir holding a total gas in place of 4.3 billion cubic meters (bcm). [2] After depletion of the reservoir, it was planned to convert into a gas storage. The contract for use of the Haidach reservoir as a storage for natural gas was signed between RAG, Wingas and Gazprom Export on 13 May 2005. [3] Construction works started in 2005. [2] The gas storage started officially operating on 24 May 2007. [1]
Haidach underground gas storage uses depleted Haidach porous sandstone gas reservoir at a depth of 1,600 metres (5,200 ft). [2] The operating capacity of the gas storage in the first phase is 1.2 bcm. In April 2011, after completing the second phase, the operating capacity would be doubled. [1] The gas storage is connected to the Austrian and German gas grids at Burghausen/Überackern through the 39 kilometres (24 mi) long Austria-Bavaria gas pipeline (ABG). [2]
The construction of the first stage cost €250 millions. [1]
Haidach gas storage is a joint project of RAG, [4] Wingas, SEFE Storage (Astora) [5] and Gazprom Export (GSA LLC). In July 2022 the Austrian government gave away Gazprom's portion of the Haidach gas storage facility to RAG Austria for failure to fill it up for the winter season. [6] It is operated by the Austrian energy company EVN. [1]
Baumgarten an der March is a small subdivision of the municipality of Weiden an der March in Lower Austria, Austria. It has only 192 inhabitants.
Nord Stream is a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. It consists of the Nord Stream 1 (NS1) pipeline running from Vyborg in northwestern Russia, near Finland, and the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline running from Ust-Luga in northwestern Russia near Estonia. Both pipelines run to Lubmin in the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Each pipeline contains two pipes, denoted A and B; each of the four pipes is approximately 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) long and with approximate diameters of 1,220 millimetres (48 in). The combined capacity of the four pipes is 110 billion cubic metres per annum of natural gas.
The BBL Pipeline is a natural gas interconnector between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The Yuzhno-Russkoye field is a Russian oil and gas field located in the Krasnoselkupsky District, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Tyumen Oblast.
Societatea Națională de Gaze Naturale Romgaz SA Mediaș or simply Romgaz is the largest natural gas producer in Romania and one of the largest producers in Eastern Europe. The company is the country's main supplier and responsible for producing around 40% of the total natural gas consumption in Romania.
Natural gas is a commodity that can be stored for an indefinite period of time in natural gas storage facilities for later consumption.
South Stream is a canceled pipeline project to transport natural gas of the Russian Federation through the Black Sea to Bulgaria and through Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia further to Austria. It was never finished.
Ruhrgas AG was the largest natural gas transportation and trading company based in Essen, Germany. The company was founded in 1926 and it finally ceased to exist on 2 May 2013 when it was merged into E.ON Global Commodities SE.
SEFE Energy is a gas distribution company located in Kassel, Germany. It is a subsidiary of Securing Energy for Europe.
RAG Austria AG (RAG) is the largest gas storage operator and thus energy storage company in Austria. The company focuses its business activities on the storage of natural gas and other gaseous energy and the development of green-gas technologies. With a total storage capacity of more than six billion cubic meters of natural gas, RAG contributes to the security of supply of Austria and Central Europe. RAG operates the Haidach gas storage facility in joint ventures with Gazprom Export and Wingas as well as the 7Fields gas storage facility together with Uniper. In addition RAG operates its own storage facilities at Puchkirchen/Haag, Haidach 5, Aigelsbrunn, 7Fields(RAG). The production and use of gas as fuel are also business areas of RAG.
The Bergermeer gas storage is an underground natural gas storage in the Alkmaar region north of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It started operations in 2014. It is one of the largest gas storages in Europe.
The 2005–06 Russia–Ukraine gas dispute was between Ukrainian state-controlled oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy and Russian national gas supplier Gazprom. The disagreements concerned natural gas supplies, prices and debts. The conflict started in March 2005, ended in January 2006 and, in addition to the gas companies, involved politicians from both countries.
SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH, a company registered in Berlin, Germany, is headquarters of a diversified conglomerate, comprises 40 entities operating in more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia and North America. Under the former name Gazprom Germania GmbH it was a 100% subsidiary of the world's largest natural gas company, Gazprom, from 1990 to 2022. Since 2022, Germany's federal energy regulator – the Federal Network Agency – has controlled the company as a temporary trustee. In June 2023, SEFE signed a 20-year contract for 2.25 million tonnes of LNG per year from a US company.
Vemex is a Gazprom-controlled natural gas trading company in the Czech Republic. In addition to the Czech Republic, the company also operates in Slovakia.
Ukraine extracts about 20 billion cubic meters of fossil gas each year, and since 2022 this has almost met demand. Ukraine has been estimated to possess natural gas reserves of over 670 billion cubic meters (in 2022), and gas is an important part of energy in Ukraine. In 2021, Ukraine produced 19.8 billion cubic meters (bcm or Gm3) of natural gas. To satisfy domestic demand of 27.3 bcm that year, Ukraine relied on gas imports (2.6 bcm) and withdrawal from underground storage (4.9 bcm). Winter demand can reach 150 mcm per day.
Romania has proven natural gas reserves of 726 billion cubic meters and is ranked 30th among countries with proved reserves of natural gas. About 75% of Romania's natural gas resources are located in Transylvania, especially in Mureș and Sibiu counties. The largest natural gas field in Romania is the Deleni gas field discovered in 1912 and located in Băgaciu commune, Mureș County, with proven reserves of 85 billion cubic meters or 3 trillion cubic feet. Other important gas fields include the Filitelnic gas field, the Roman-Secuieni gas field, the Voitinel gas field, the Ghercești gas field and the Sărmașel gas field all with reserves larger than 10 billion cubic meters or 350 billion cubic feet. Currently Romania has the second largest natural gas reserves in the European Union just after the Netherlands.
In 2021 Russia was the world's second-largest producer of natural gas, producing an estimated 701 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year, and the world's largest natural gas exporter, shipping an estimated 250 bcm a year. In 2022 the export market was significantly downsized, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russia reducing exports after countries refused to pay in rubles.
The natural gas transmission system of Ukraine is a complex of pipelines for import and transit of gas in Ukraine. It is one of the largest gas transmission systems in the world. The system is linked with natural gas transmission systems of Russia and Belarus on one hand, and with the systems of Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia on the other hand. The system is owned by Government of Ukraine and operated by Ukrtransgaz. Some local transmission lines together with distribution sets are owned by regional gas companies.
The Russia–EU gas dispute flared up in March 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Russia and the major EU countries clashed over the issue of payment for natural gas pipelined to Europe by Russia's Gazprom, amidst sanctions on Russia that were expanded in response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In June, Gazprom claimed it was obliged to cut the flow of gas to Germany by more than half, as a result of such sanctions that prevented the Russian company from receiving its turbine component from Canada. On 26 September 2022, three of the four pipes of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines were sabotaged. This resulted in a record release of 115,000 tonnes of methane (CH4) – an equivalent of 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) – and is believed to have made a contribution to global warming.
As part of the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War, on 3 December 2022, the European Union (EU) agreed to cap the price of natural gas in order to reduce the volatility created by Russia in the gas market.
