14.02.2011 | Pressrelease
- Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft (RAG) and Bayerngas prove commercial reserves in Assing
- First new natural gas production in Bavaria since 1996
- Expansion of joint venture to Chiemgau concession area
Munich/11. February 2011. Austrian Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft (RAG) and Bayerngas GmbH have recorded their first success in the exploration of natural gas in Bavaria. The partners have discovered gas reserves that are considered economically feasible to produce in the Assing R1 well. Assing is located northeast of lake Chiemsee, in the Bavarian Salzach-Inn region.
"The first production volumes of Bayerngas Norge AS from the Norwegian North Sea flow to the UK market. It goes without saying that producing gas from Bavarian reservoirs for Bavarian customers is something special to Bayerngas. Assing would be the first gas production project in Bavaria since 1996. This demonstrates the excellent expertise of our partner RAG", says Marc Hall, Managing Director of Bayerngas GmbH.
It is planned to produce and market around 13 million cubic metres of gas from 2012, representing the annual consumption of approximately 9000 households. The exploration well is used as production well. The gas could be transported in a connecting pipeline leading to the grid of Energienetze Bayern GmbH that is located at a distance of 500 metres only. "Low connection costs and re-usable modular surface facilities for control and gas compression make the project at Assing commercially feasible", says Kurt Sonnleitner, RAG's Chief Technical Officer and in charge of the company's business area Exploration & Production.
In recent years RAG has developed a wide range of drilling projects under which promising new wells are to be drilled together with Bayerngas in 2011 and the coming years. "Bayerngas and RAG have a highly professional partnership pursuing similar goals. This is why I am very pleased to see that our common efforts in Bavaria will be strengthened. Going forward, our joint activities will be extended to include the Chiemgau concession area, in which Bayerngas will hold a share of 30 per cent from 2011 on, like in the Salzach-Inn concession", explains Kurt Sonnleitner.
Contact at Bayerngas:
Dirk Barz
Press Officer
Poccistr. 9
80336 Munich
Tel.: +49 (0)89 7200-339
Contact at RAG:
Elisabeth Kolm
Press Officer
Schwarzenbergplatz 16
1010 Vienna
Tel.: +43 50724 5448
About Bayerngas GmbH, Munich
Bayerngas was founded in 1962 and is an independent natural gas specialist. Shareholders of the company are SWM Services GmbH, Stadtwerke Augsburg Energie GmbH, REWAG Regensburger Energie- und Wasserversorgung AG & Co. KG, TIGAS – Erdgas Tirol GmbH, SWU Stadtwerke Ulm/Neu-Ulm GmbH, Stadtwerke Landshut, Stadtwerke Ingolstadt Beteiligungen GmbH and Ingolstädter Kommunalbetriebe AöR.
In 2009, Bayerngas sold 70.2 billion kWh of natural gas and generated sales revenues of approximately two billion Euros.
Bayerngas operates its own natural gas storage facility and holds national and international stakes in bayernets GmbH (independent grid operator), Bayerngas Norge AS (gas production business), Bayerngas Energy Trading GmbH (energy trading), novogate GmbH (gas distribution & consulting) and bayernSERVICES GmbH (engineering services).
bayernets holds an interest in NetConnect Germany GmbH & Co. KG (NCG). NCG is the largest German market for natural gas and stretches from the Alps to the North Sea.
About RAG Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft, Vienna
Founded in 1935, Austrian RAG Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft is the longest-standing exploration and production company of Austria. The currently approximately 400 employees of RAG use their experience, expert knowledge and high commitment to ensure sustainable provision of the natural domestic energy resources oil and gas. Expanding from our home market in Austria, we now provide our know-how to other European countries as well.
Storage of natural gas is another key area of business. Thanks to our more than 30 years of experience and the strong expansion of activities in recent and coming years, RAG now ranks among the leading European storage providers. The gas storage facility at Haidach operated by RAG, among others, since mid-2007 presently is the largest gas storage facility in Austria. Offering storage capacities of approximately five billion cubic metres from 2011, RAG makes a substantial contribution to security of supply in Austria and throughout Central Europe. Stockpiling crude oil as an emergency reserve for Austrian customers, trading and transportation of natural gas, and renewable energy projects, such as geothermal energy and biogas, complete the company's product portfolio.
Since its foundation, RAG has produced more than 14 million tons of crude oil and over 24 billion cubic metres of natural gas. Today, RAG sells around 600 million cubic metres of natural gas and produces 130,000 tons of crude oil annually. In recent years, RAG's exploration and production concession areas were extended to more than 8200 km², of which around 60 per cent is located in Austria and around 40 per cent in neighbouring Bavaria. In October 2009, fully-owned subsidiary RAG Hungary was established and RAG acquired a 26 % share in a shale gas project in Poland.
50.025 % of the shares in RAG is held by EVN AG, 29.975 % by E.ON Ruhrgas E&P GmbH, and 10 % each by Steirische Gas-Wärme GmbH and Salzburg AG.