Netherlands Council of State Receives Bergermeer Gas Storage Advisory Report

Bergermeer Gas Storage is necessary for the Netherlands’ security of supply. The flexibility offered by indigenous natural gas production in the Netherlands is decreasing and additional gas storage capacity will be needed to ensure sufficient gas supplies in the coming years especially during winter months. Gas storage capacity is also required for the transition to a sustainable energy supply and to guarantee the flexibility needed for a functioning gas market.

The advisory report includes, among other topics, an analysis of the possibility of earth tremors related to Bergermeer Gas Storage. Three independent institutes, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have concluded that the risk of a light earth tremor is limited. StAB agrees with the previous reports on this topic and concludes that the increase in reservoir pressure will have a positive effect on the reservoir’s geological stability and that any earth tremor would not exceed the maximum limit which has been consistently viewed as acceptable for gas production and storage activity in the Netherlands.

The advisory report also includes an analysis of external safety and effects of Bergermeer Gas Storage on the local environment. The advice confirms that the external safety effects have been sufficiently covered. Some birds could possibly be affected by peak noise levels during the drilling and construction of Bergermeer Gas Storage. Besides technical measures to minimise noise levels, TAQA has agreements in place with the Province Noord-Holland regarding nature compensation. The agreements have been prepared and executed in good cooperation with regional environmental groups.

Bergermeer Gas Storage is an essential component of the Netherlands’ plan to become the gas hub of Northwest Europe. The Bergermeer Gas Storage project will, as part of the gas hub, provide a long-term stimulus for the Dutch economy. The construction of Bergermeer Gas Storage will create 3,300 man-years of new work of which 2,650 will be in the Netherlands. The Dutch gas hub will generate EUR 21 Billion of additional economic activity up to 2020 and more than 13,000 additional jobs.

TAQA is offering a total of 11 TWh of storage capacity for periods of 4 to 10 years under the 2011 and 2012 Open Seasons for longer-term capacity. Bergermeer Gas Storage commercial operations are due to start in April 2014.

TAQA is confident in a positive final decision on the appeals and expects the permits to become irrevocable.

TAQA Media Relations
Allan Virtanen
Manager Group Corporate Communications
+31 64 61 47 448
allan.virtanen@taqaglobal.com 
www.taqaglobal.com

Notes to editors

About TAQA

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) is a global energy company majority owned by the Abu Dhabi Government and listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Our main activities include our oil and gas business, power generation and water desalination across four continents.

We are the sixth-largest independent power producer in the world and the majority owner of the facilities that provide 98% of the water and electricity requirements in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Our power plants are located in the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, India, and the United States.

With operations in the UK, the Netherlands, the United States and Canada, our oil and gas business includes exploration and production, gas storage and pipeline transportation.

In the Netherlands our established gas storage business includes operating the Alkmaar Peak Gas Installation (PGI). With our partner EBN, an independent company with the Dutch State as its sole shareholder, we are also developing the Bergermeer Gas Storage facility. This will make a major contribution to the security of gas supply to Northwest Europe, and provide a strong base for the Northwest European gas hub.

Our entrepreneurial culture, along with a commitment to people, safety and the environment, has created strong foundations for the long-term sustainable growth of our business.

About Bergermeer Gas Storage

The Bergermeer Gas Storage project will create Europe’s largest open access gas storage facility. Bergermeer will provide the Northwest European gas market with 46 TWh (4.1 BCM) of seasonal storage, thereby almost doubling the Netherlands’ total storage capacity and adding an alternative source of flexibility on the TTF.

The depleted Bergermeer reservoir has the ideal geological characteristics for gas storage and is in a strategically excellent location: well connected to the gas transport network, close to major cities and industrial centres and only 20 km from the BBL pipeline transporting gas between the Netherlands and the UK.

TAQA (operator) and EBN hold 60% and 40% stakes in the Bergermeer Gas Storage project respectively. The design and construction of the facility require a total investment of EUR 800 million and involves drilling 14 high capacity storage wells, building a gas treatment plant and laying almost 40 km of pipeline.

As part of the realisation of this project, an agreement with Gazprom Group, one of the world’s largest energy companies, was made in 2009 as a result of an open season procedure. For delivering the required 48.5 TWh of cushion gas to pressurise the reservoir and make commercial operations possible, Gazprom group will receive a minority share of the storage capacity and an interest in the technical operatorship of the facility.

Bergermeer is an open access gas storage. The majority of the storage capacity will be made available to the market via negotiated Third Party Access (TPA). The TPA capacity will be marketed via TAQA Gas Storage B.V. on both a longer-term basis and via annual auctions.