Project N05-A
ONE-Dyas, together with its partners Hansa Hydrocarbons and EBN, intends to extract natural gas from field N05-A and from surrounding fields in the German and Dutch North Sea. The proposed platform location is about 20 kilometres north of the islands of Borkum, Rottumerplaat and Schiermonnikoog. The N05-A platform will be located in the Netherlands, approximately one and a half kilometres from German waters. Platform N05-A will be the first Dutch offshore gas treatment platform in the North Sea to run entirely on wind energy. For this purpose, a cable will be installed to the nearby German wind farm Riffgat. This means that the emissions are near-zero during the drilling and production phase. In addition, ONE-Dyas uses an existing pipeline which is already in the North Sea, so only a short new pipeline as a side branch is needed to bring the natural gas to land. Platform N05-A has been designed to be suitable for the production of green hydrogen in the near future.
Final permits for gas production from field N05-A
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) has granted ONE-Dyas the final permits for the development of the gas field N05-A in the North Sea. An extensive environmental impact report (EIR) has been written for this development. The EIR studied and described the effects on the environment, nature and the surrounding area, the implementation variants and the choices made. This EIR was available for inspection in the spring of 2021. Based on the submitted views and advice from the regulatory advisers, a number of adjustments were made to further minimise the environmental impact at the site. On 18 February 2022, the Environmental Impact Assessment Commission concluded that the changes had sufficiently assessed the environmental effects and that the usefulness and necessity of the project had been adequately described. The Commission expressed its appreciation for the electrification of the platform, which will limit emissions to the air as much as possible.
With the final permit, the Dutch government gives the go-ahead for the production of natural gas from field N05-A and surrounding fields in the North Sea.
Domestic natural gas
The Netherlands is committed to a CO2-neutral energy supply by 2050. ONE-Dyas fully endorses this energy transition. In all scenarios, natural gas will continue to play a relevant role in the coming decades. Dutch natural gas has many advantages over importing natural gas from abroad. It means a 30% lower CO2 footprint, greater security of supply and economic benefits in the form of employment, income for the Dutch state and preservation of knowledge and infrastructure for energy transition.
NEWS OVERVIEW
Final investment decision for N05-A
27 September 2022
ONE-Dyas, together with partners EBN and Hansa Hydrocarbons, have made a final investment decision for the development of the N05-A gas field in the North Sea. The decision involves an investment of more than EUR 500 million. This makes it the largest investment in a natural gas development in the Netherlands in the past 15 years.
Find out more: Press release Investment Decision gas field N05-A
APRIL 2024: PLATFORM N05-A IS ALMOST READY FOR INSTALLATION ON THE NORTH SEA
Future-proof development of the N05-A gas field in the North Sea
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change wants to award ONE-Dyas the licenses for taking the N05-A gas field in the North Sea into production. The N05-A platform on which the gas will be produced will be the first platform in the North Sea to run entirely on wind energy. The production of gas from the N05-A field fits in with the small gas fields policy of the Dutch government.
Permits and licences
The GEMS project goes through four phases, exploration, discovery, production and decomissioning. For the N05-A field, the exploration and discovery phase was completed in 2018. Permits are required before the production phase can start.
On 16 October 2021, ONE-Dyas submitted the permit applications for the N05-A project (including the EIA) to the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. On 23 April 2021, the Ministry of Economic Affairs made the draft decisions for this project available for public inspection.
Until 3 June 2021 stakeholders could submit their views and ask questions via www.rvo.nl/gaswinning-N05. Read more.
EXPLORATION
Verkennen - 3D seismisch onderzoek. Om de ondergrondse situatie in kaart te brengen is zogenaamd seismisch onderzoek uitgevoerd. Dit onderzoek laat zien of en op welke diepte er winbaar aardgas aanwezig is in de ondergrond. In 2019 wil ONE verder seismisch onderzoek gaan uitvoeren.
DISCOVERY
Opsporen - Proefboringen. Nadat seismisch onderzoek is uitgevoerd, moeten proefboringen uitwijzen of de voorraden daadwerkelijk aanwezig zijn en de moeite van het winnen waard zijn. In 2017 en 2018 heeft ONE op twee locaties proefboringen gedaan. Voor de periode 2019-2021 staan verdere proefboringen gepland.
EXTRACTION
Winnen - N05-A productieplatform en pijpleidingen. Om het gas in het N05-A veld te kunnen produceren dient er een platform geplaatst te worden. ONE onderzoekt hoe dit platform eruit zou komen te zien en welke apparatuur noodzakelijk is. Er zijn verschillende opties om het gas naar land te brengen. Minimalisatie van milieueffecten is een belangrijke parameter bij de selectie van het platform en de route naar land. ONE wil deze keuzes begin 2019 maken en het productieplatform in de periode 2021/2022 plaatsen.
DECOMMISSIONING
Opruimen - Ontmanteling. Als de projecten zijn afgerond worden de platformen en pijpleidingen ontmanteld. Uitgangspunt daarbij is dat de locatie weer in de oorspronkelijke staat wordt achtergelaten.