The German Environmental Aid (DUH) is accustomed to successes, from the introduction of the can deposit to the regulation of diesel exhaust. But even for it, a “historic victory” is rare.
At the end of last week, it resorted to that wording. Following an emergency petition by the DUH, the 6th chamber of the Schleswig-Holstein Administrative Court (VG) halted oil production on the Mittelplate platform, in the National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Wadden Sea, off the coast of Dithmarschen.
For the drilling and production island, there had never been a compatibility assessment under the Habitats Directive (FFH). But that would be required under current law, since the National Park belongs to the Natura 2000 network, which includes the EU’s highest-level protected areas. The absence of the assessment leads to the “illegality of the permit,” according to the 65-page court decision. It cannot be avoided whether the project is compatible with the FFH site, whether compensatory measures or offset measures are required, or whether the project may not be implemented for lack of compatibility.
The operator, Harbour Energy Germany, is now obliged to an “immediate stop,” according to the DUH. “Sure, you can’t simply flip a switch like that,” Sascha Müller-Kraenner, the DUH’s national managing director, told . “But we expect that it will be completed within the next days.”
We have long searched for a legal lever. It was not an easy fight
Sascha Müller-Kraenner, spokesperson for the German Environmental Aid
An appeal by Harbour Energy against the court ruling has no suspensive effect. The production may only resume when it is established that the Wadden Sea is not exposed to significant risks from the Mittelplate operation, Germany’s largest oil field. Whether that will be the case is open.
The platform has long been a thorn in the side of the DUH. It is “a nuisance, a source of danger with potentially disastrous consequences,” according to Müller-Kraenner. “We have long sought a legal lever. It was not an easy fight.”
Law, policy, administration and business must now find a solution. The Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Environment, in a statement by spokesman Jonas Hippel to , says it is in close contact with the Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie (LBEG), the permitting authority, and the defendant DUH, “in this matter in close contact.” They will “examine the ruling and the next legal steps.”
Harbour Energy has filed an appeal against the VG ruling with the Schleswig-Holstein Higher Administrative Court (OVG). “Until a final decision is issued,” Derek Mösche of , Harbour Energy spokesperson, wrote, “the safe operation will continue in close coordination with the authorities.”
Operator Harbour Energy will continue to drill for now
The court decision did not order the immediate shutdown of the installation. The DUH is appealing the operating plan approval, arguing that the FFH assessment obligation, introduced only after construction of the production island, should also apply to Mittelplate. “By contrast, the state authorities and we believe that this assessment duty does not apply due to a vested right.”
Now the 5th Senate of the OVG is to decide. By March 4, all parties have time to submit their statements. A decision will likely be reached rather quickly on whether continuing production until the decision on the appeal is permissible, says OVG spokesperson Johannes Modest to . Müller-Kraenner: “We believe that this cannot be done beyond the technically necessary lead time for a shutdown.”
The platform has been producing since 1987. Last year, it produced 858,000 tonnes of crude oil. Up to twelve million tonnes remain extractable; the license for that ends in 2041. After that, oil production in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea will end entirely, as decided by the state government in 2024.
The DUH now hopes that the Schleswig-Holstein Administrative Court’s decision will also be read in Lower Saxony. There, the energy company ONE-Dyas plans to extract natural gas near the island of Borkum, at the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park. DUH spokesperson Müller-Kraenner: “Hopefully the Mittelplate decision will become a precedent.”
