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Dipl.-Kffr. Tatjana Weilert
T +43 50 724
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Ing. Thomas Pleßnitzer
T +43 50 724
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The Haidach underground gas storage facility is a two-stage joint venture project between RAG, its Russian partner, Gazprom export, and its German partner, Wingas GmbH & Co. KG. In this project RAG is planner, constructor and technical operator.
The operation of the first stage started on 4th July 2007 marking the completion of the first part of Austria’s largest underground gas storage project within a record time of only two years in compliance with the most stringent environmental and safety standards. Implementation of the second stage started at the end of 2008 and will be completed in April 2011.
The total investment volume for both project stages amounts to approx. 280 million Euros (exclusive cushion gas). From 2011 on, up to 2.7 billion cubic metres of natural gas can be stored in the Haidach underground gas storage facility, a volume that could be increased to as much as 3 billion cubic metres from an engineering site. By the completion of the second project stage, Austria’s storage capacities will be doubled. The planned volume of natural gas stored in Haidach will cover around 25 percent of the total annual gas demand in Austria.
The Haidach gas reservoir – sustainable use as underground gas storage
The Haidach gas reservoir was found by RAG in 1997 using the most modern geophysical methods as a porous sandstone reservoir at a depth of 1,600 metres. It represents the largest gas source founded in Austria since 1982 concerning the initial gas in place of 4.3 billion cubic metres. Since the beginning of gas production in 1998 more than 2.9 billion cubic metres of natural gas were produced for the Austrian market.
Ideal geological conditions turn the former gas field Haidach into a „text-book“ reservoir for its secondary utilization as underground gas storage. It extends over 17.5 square kilometres. The sand stone, the pores of which contain the gas, is up to 100 metres thick with massive shale layers located on top. The high permeability of the reservoir rock allows withdrawing around one million cubic metres of natural gas per hour from the storage facility.