The EIB Invests in Norwegian Gas: EUR 150 million Loan Agreement Signed with DONG Energy

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is not only investing in renewable energy like offshore wind but also in conventional energy sources for security of supply. The EIB and DONG Energy have signed today a loan agreement of EUR 150 million for a project aimed to pump the Norwegian gas located in the Trym field via the Danish platform Harald. This will allow the development of a field identified for a long time but not yet exploited. The field already received some financing from the EIB in 2009 (see HERE). The Trym's Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) was approved earlier in March 2010 by the Norwegian authorities.

Here are reproduced some parts of the press release:

"Trym was first discovered in 1989 but not explored, partly due to low market prices at the time. The field is located in the Sourthern part of the Norwegian North Sea zone near the Danish platform Harald. The project includes well drilling, subsea pipelines and related work worth a total of approximately EUR 326 m.

Gas will be brought onshore using DONG Energy's existing pipeline to Nybro in Denmark and, using a separate link, to Den Helder in the Netherlands.

[...]

In recent years, the EIB has financed a range of projects with DONG Energy. They include London Array, which when completed in 2012 will be the world's largest offshore wind farm, and onshore wind farms in Poland."

The news can be put in perspective with the recent publication of a report on the potential for extended exploitation of petroleum resources on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (see previous post). The future energy mix of European countries will certainly comprise an increasing part of renewbale energies. But to feed Europe, cost-efficiency is also seeked by the further exploitation of existing infrastructures and remaining conventional resources. "How far should we go?" is also a question raised in Norway - like in other countries - with the debatted exploitation of petroleum resources in the Lofoten area. (See on that topic the recent report from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate "Petroleum resources in the sea areas off Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja", 24.06.2010.) Of course, the two situations should be distinguished, between a well identified field in an already exploited area and an non-exploited and environmentally fragile one.

References: BEI/10/163, 6 October 2010, EIB.

Picture: Floating platform above the Trym field.