Jemgum Natural Gas Storage Facility Consists of 10 Caverns

EUROPIPE II

EUROPIPE I — FACT SHEET JEMGUM NORD STREAM

JEMGUM NATURAL RHG NEL

NETRA OPAL REHDEN JAMAL

GAS STORAGE WEDAL JAGAL

MIDAL OPAL FACILITY STEGAL MIDAL

TENP MEGAL STORAGE FACILITIES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR Gazelle GAS DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS IN THE MEGAL EUROPEAN UNION

TENP WAG The main trend in the European gas market in recent years has been ABG HAIDACH the simultaneous reduction in natural gas production volumes from its own fields and an increase in its import volumes. Natural gas storage facilities play a critical role, especially amid increased volumes of Natural gas pipeline network energy from renewable sources. Natural gas storage facilities make it Transit pipeline possible to not only balance seasonal fluctuations in the volumes of produced and consumed energy in the summer and winter months but UGS Jemgum is located directly on the European energy hub between Germany and the also make an important contribution to carrying out the “energy turn- Netherlands. around” programme. If wind and solar energy are lacking, natural gas can be effectively used to level out fluctuations in energy production from renewable sources. STORAGE IN ROCK SALT DEPOSITS: THE “RACING CAR” OF THE NATURAL GAS STORAGE BUSINESS

The main advantage of cavern storage in rock salt is the high speed of gas injection and extraction. 1 million m3 of natural gas can be extracted from the Jemgum storage facility in just one hour. This technical advantage allows for the most efficient and flexible use of salt caverns together with renewable energy sources. IDEAL GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS FOR CREATING STORAGE FACILITIES

Thanks to a salt dome, the area around Jemgum in Lower Saxony is Project implementation stages ideal for storing natural gas. The rock salt deposits extend for more than 10 kilometres from the Rhaude region through the Jemgum municipality — 2006: Project launch and start of the approval process in the Leer region to the Bunde municipal district. — 2008: Groundbreaking ceremony and start of construction — 2010: Start of drilling to create caverns The storage caverns are artificially created cavities in the rock salt. To — 2011: Start of cavern creation by leeching construct them, 950- to 1,500-metre deep wells are first drilled and — 2013: Acceptance and launch into operation then the salt is dissolved and flushed with fresh water in a controlled — 2019/2020: Completion of the expansion stage manner. As a result, cylindrical cavities are formed underground. The salt remaining in the storage facility hermetically seals the caverns and makes them suitable for safely storing natural gas. The upper end of the STRUCTURE AND OPERATION salt dome is located at a depth of about 450 metres. OF JEMGUM STORAGE FACILITY The Jemgum storage facility is located at strategically important points along Germany and Europe’s gas transmission systems. Natural gas can The Jemgum natural gas storage facility consists of 10 caverns. Work be delivered to the gas storage facility through the North European Gas is currently underway to place the final two caverns into operation. After Pipeline (NEL). Because the storage facility connects to the gas trans- construction is completed in 2019/2020, the planned total working volu- mission system (GTS) of the Netherlands as well as the German gas me of this natural gas storage facility will be 900 – 950 million m3. This distribution network of GASCADE, gas from Jemgum can be delivered to corresponds to the annual natural gas consumption of 500,000 house- nearby Western European countries. holds. The storage facility’s creation and operation bring with it certain benefits for the region. These include creating new jobs and involving local companies in the storage facility’s construction and operation.

1 COMPRESSION 2 INJECTION/EXTRACTION

Natural gas is compressed using special About 60,000 m3 of natural gas can be compressors under pressure of up to 200 injected into it or 100,000 m3 can be bar before being injected into the caverns. extracted from it per hour.

3 DRYING 4 PRE-HEATING

While natural gas is stored in the caverns, While withdrawing the natural gas from the gas absorbs water molecules as a re- the caverns, the gas pressure must sult of interaction with brine residues. The be adapted to the pipeline pressure. If natural gas is pre-dried to prevent water pressure reduction is needed, preheating condensation in the gas pipeline. of gas is necessary in order to prevent 1000 m hydrate formation. SAFETY FIRST

astora cares not only about the safe storage of natural gas but also the safety of the environment, people and facilities. Because the Jemgum storage facility uses the latest technologies, it has a modern system for natural gas storage in Europe and meets strict European and internatio- nal requirements for occupational safety and environmental protection. 2000 m All the main parameters of storage operation are monitored and recor- ded 24/7 from a central control centre in Kassel.

astora GmbH & Co. KG, located in Kassel, is one of Europe’s largest operators of under- Updated: January 2019 ground gas storage facilities and is a subsidiary of the GAZPROM Germania Group. Published by and contact: astora GmbH & Co. KG, Königstor 20, 34117 Kassel, astora operates the capacities of the Rehden and Jemgum UGS and commercialises the www.astora.de capacities of the Haidach UGS. The company manages underground gas storage capacities Managing directors: Aleksey Mochalkin, Arkadius J. Binia with a total volume of more than 6 billion cubic metres. It holds approximately 25% of the Photo credits: Oliver Hein total natural gas storage capacities in Germany.