Crude Oil and Gas
Crude Oil
Interesting facts about crude oil
History
Crude oil has been industrially extracted in Germany for more than 150 years. The successful oil well in Wietze near Celle in 1858/59 is generally recognised as being one of the first in the world. Crude oil pro- duction in Germany peaked in 1968 with an annual production of around 8 million tonnes. Proven and potential crude oil reserves in Germany were estimated to be around 27 million tonnes as of 1 January 2021. Most of the crude oil reserves are in the North German Basin, primarily in Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony. At the end of 2020, there were 49 oil fields.
Economic importance
With a share of around 34% of primary energy con- sumption, crude oil is by far the most important energy source in Germany. In this context, fossil fuels with a share of 76% generally account for a much larger share than renewable forms of energy. In 2020, current domestic oil production amounted to around 2% of Germany’s annual consumption. This rose by 1.4% compared to the previous year. Germany is one of the world’s largest users of mineral oil, making it almost entirely dependent on importing crude oil and crude oil products. Imports of crude oil are, at around 86 million tonnes, slightly higher than in the previous year. These imports in total were valued at EUR36.8 billion and came from 29 countries,1 with 55% of the imported crude oil alone coming from Russia (27.1 million tonnes), Great Britain (10.2 million tonnes) and Norway (9.7 million tonnes). Germany produced slightly less than 2 million tonnes of crude oil in 2019. The country’s share of global oil production amounted to approx. 0.04% in 2019. The value of crude oil produced in Germany in 2019 is estimated to be EUR823 million, which represents 0.02% of GDP. Crude oil accounted for around 7% of the total value of natural resources produced in Germany in 2019. In terms of economic significance, crude oil thus ranked third behind lignite and natural gas in the list of fossil energy resources produced in Germany and in sixth place out of all natural resources mined nationwide. In a 2019 international comparison of crude oil- producing countries, Germany was in 58th place (1970: 26th place). At the end of 2019, 1,570 persons were employed in oil production in Germany.2
Extraction
be EUR823 million, which represents 0.02% of GDP. Crude oil accounted for around 7% of the total value of natural resources produced in Germany in 2019. In terms of economic significance, crude oil thus ranked third behind lignite and natural gas in the list of fossil energy resources produced in Germany and in sixth place out of all natural resources mined nationwide. In a 2019 international comparison of crude oil- producing countries, Germany was in 58th place
(1970: 26th place). At the end of 2019, 1,570 persons were employed in oil production in Germany.2
Uses
Natural gas
Interesting facts about natural gas
History
Since then, however, production has declined. The safe and probable reserves of natural gas are also declining. These amounted to around 46.6 billion m³ (Vn) as of 1 January 2020. The decline in natural gas reserves and production is mainly due to the increasing depletion of the deposits and the resulting natural decline in extraction. There have been no significant new discoveries in recent years. A legislative process lasting several years was also responsible for the decline in reserves; during this process, the topics discussed included future requirements for the use of fracking technology, which led to new legislation in 2016.
Economic importance
Extraction
Uses
As a fossil energy source, natural gas is mainly used to heat residential households (share 43%) and businesses in the commercial, retail and service sectors (share 48%). Natural gas also plays an important role in supplying heat for thermal processes in trade and industry (e.g. in large bakeries, brick factories, cement works, foundries and smelters (share 46%), to generate electricity (share of 12.4% of electricity supplied in Germany and to the grid) and also as a fuel for ships and motor vehicles (0.2% share). Natural gas also has many other significant uses – as a reactant in chemical processes (e.g. for ammonia synthesis in the Haber- Bosch process (nitrogen fertiliser)), for iron ore reduc- tion in the blast furnace process but particularly in the production of hydrogen through steam reforming.
1 BfA 2018
2 LBEG 2018