About 40% of Austria's current natural gas demand is covered by RAG

09.01.2009 | Pressrelease

Gas demand in Upper Austria and Salzburg is exclusively covered by RAG facilities; in Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Lower Austria natural gas is delivered by RAG facilities

All RAG facilities – both gas storage facilities and natural gas production – are operating to capacity and all reserves have been mobilised. This applies also to the domestic gas production of the company which represents around 7% of Austria's annual natural gas consumption. Additionally, RAG today increased the natural gas capacities available to Austria. From 8:00 a.m. today, the Haidach storage facility has delivered approx. 200,000 m³/h of natural gas to the Austrian natural gas pipeline network. For comparison: this is roughly the hourly volume of gas consumed by 600,000 households. At the moment, the gas delivered by the two facilities of RAG at Haidach and Puchkirchen and domestic production running at full capacity supply all of Upper Austria and Salzburg. Additionally, gas from RAG facilities is delivered to Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Lower Austria.

Related to consumption, no other European country has more storage capacities than Austria. In recent years, RAG has invested heavily in expanding and operating underground gas storages. Expansion of the facility at Puchkirchen and commissioning the Haidach gas storage facility in 2007 were part of the forward-looking approach to security of supply, which has proved its worth in view of the current situation.

More gas storage projects to be implemented

Austria is in the fortunate position to have unique geological boundary conditions - compared to other countries in Europe - for underground gas storage. At the moment, RAG is exploring several other gas storage projects in Upper Austria and Salzburg, some of which are already being implemented. The purpose of the projects is to provide another 2 billion cubic metres of natural gas for Austria's security of supply. Moreover, RAG is stepping up activities to search for and produce domestic natural gas in Upper Austria and Salzburg by using state-of-the art drilling rigs, another step towards increasing security of supply.

About the Puchkirchen gas storage facility

In 1982, RAG's natural gas storage facility at Puchkirchen close to the city of Vöcklabruck was one of the first of its kind in Austria. The gas reservoir at Puchkirchen was discovered by RAG in 1969 at a depth of 1100 metres. At the moment, the maximum storage capacity at Puchkirchen is approx. 860 million cubic metres of natural gas, representing around 10 per cent of Austria's total annual consumption. Some 400,000 cubic metres of natural gas can be injected or withdrawn per hour. For comparison: This volume comes close to the hourly consumption of 1.2 million households! Currently, the site at Puchkirchen is being expanded to hold more than 1 billion cubic metres of natural gas under a multi-year project scheduled for completion in 2010.

About the Haidach gas storage facility

In 1982The sand stone gas reservoir Haidach near Straßwalchen was discovered by RAG at a depth of 1600 m in 1997. Holding a total gas volume of 4.3 billion cubic metres, the Haidach reservoir was the largest field discovered in Austria since 1982. Since production started in 1998, more than 2.9 billion cubic metres were extracted for the Austrian market. Due to its geological structure, the Haidach reservoir is perfectly suited for follow-up use as a natural gas storage.
At the Haidach site currently up to 1.2 billion cubic metres of natural gas can be stored. By 2011, the storage capacity will be extended to hold 2.7 billion cubic metres, allowing for a withdrawal rate of more than 1.2 million cubic metres of natural gas per hour - a volume that roughly corresponds to the hourly consumption of 3.6 million households and is a crucial contribution to security of supply. The Haidach site serves to secure Austria's (including the regions of Tyrol and Vorarlberg) and Bavaria's supply with gas.

RAG – A specialist in natural gas storage and production

Austrian Rohöl -Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft (RAG) is the longest-standing exploration and production company in Austria. Since the discovery of oil and gas by RAG in the Vienna Basin in 1937, the company has produced over 14 million tons of crude oil and over 23 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Today, RAG’s annual production stands at around 600 million cubic meters of natural gas and 110,000 tons of crude oil. In recent years, the concession fields of RAG were extended to cover in excess of 7100 square kilometres, of which approx. 60 percent is located in Austria and around 40 percent in neighbouring Bavaria.

RAG has been active in the field of gas storage for almost 30 years and operates both Austria's largest gas storage facility at Haidach and the Puchkirchen storage facility near the city of Vöcklabruck. RAG is an international leader in the field of technology, safety and environmental standards.

Ownership structure:

50.03% held by EVN, 10% by Salzburg AG, 10% by Steirische Gas-Wärme GmbH, and 29.97% by E.ON Energie AG

 

Further inquiry note:
Elisabeth Kolm
Press officer / Corporate Communications
Schwarzenbergplatz 16, 1015 Wien
T +43 (0)50 724-5448; F +43 (0)50 724-5238
elisabeth.kolm@rag-austria.at