Operator of the Etzel cavern facility: storage of crude oil, natural gas and, in future, green hydrogen in the Etzel salt dome.
STORAG Etzel GmbH
Friedeburg (Etzel)New on Amplifa
About STORAG Etzel
STORAG Etzel GmbH, headquartered in Friedeburg (Lower Saxony), operates the Etzel cavern facility, one of the largest underground storage facilities for crude oil and natural gas in Europe. In the Etzel salt dome, salt caverns at depths of 900 to 1700 meters are used as storage; a cavern is around 300 to 500 meters high and up to 60 meters wide. The company, formerly IVG Caverns, is responsible for the construction, operation and marketing of the caverns; tenants are renowned European and international energy companies. In 2017, 51 caverns were used for natural gas and 24 for crude oil. The facility is connected via pipelines to the Nord-West-Oelleitung (NWO), NETRA and the 60-kilometer-long Bunde-Etzel Pipeline (BEP) to the Dutch gas market; Norwegian natural gas is landed via Emden and Dornum. In the H2CAST Etzel project, the conversion of caverns to hydrogen is being researched; in 2024 the company was granted the Maja (Jever-Berdum) exploration field for a new cavern field for the storage of green hydrogen.
- Site
- Friedeburg
- Processes
- Cavern storage of crude oil (petroleum), Cavern storage of natural gas, Hydrogen storage in salt caverns (H2CAST Etzel project, H2-ready), Leaching (solutions mining) of salt caverns, Cavern storage for crude oil and natural gas, Construction, operation and marketing of caverns, Hydrogen storage (H2CAST Etzel project, H2-ready), Cavern information center with guided tours
- Materials
- Salt cavern in rock salt
- Founded
- 1971
- Industries
- Energy, Crude oil, Natural gas, Hydrogen, Renewable energies
- 01
Leaching (solutions mining) of salt caverns
- 02
Operation of storage caverns (crude oil/natural gas)
- 03
Marketing to energy companies
- 04
Pipeline connections (NWO, NETRA, BEP)
- 05
Development of hydrogen storage (H2CAST)
Storage & Processes
Salt cavern in rock salt
Impermeable rock salt in the Etzel salt dome serves as a sealed underground storage facility for crude oil, natural gas and, in the future, hydrogen.
Locations
Friedeburg (Etzel)
DEHeadquarters / Etzel cavern facility
- Materials
- Crude oil, natural gas, hydrogen (planned)
- 51 natural gas caverns (2017)
- 24 crude oil caverns (2017)
- Photovoltaic system 505 kWp
- Bunde-Etzel Pipeline (60 km)
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavern storage of crude oil (petroleum)Other | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cavern storage of natural gasOther | – | – | – | – | – |
| Hydrogen storage in salt caverns (H2CAST Etzel project, H2-ready)Other | – | – | – | – | – |
| Leaching (solutions mining) of salt cavernsOther | – | – | – | – | – |
4 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt cavern (natural gas storage) | – | 51 | Cavern approx. 300–500 m high, up to 60 m wide; depth 900–1700 m | – | Etzel, Friedeburg |
| Salt cavern (crude oil storage) | – | 24 | – | – | Etzel, Friedeburg |
| Photovoltaic system | – | 1 | 505 kWp, 939 modules of 540 Wp each, 3,000 m² area | – | Etzel |
| Pipeline (Bunde-Etzel Pipeline, 60 km) | BEP | 1 | – | – | Bunde–Etzel |
Additional services
Reference customers
History
- 1970
Federal Republic of Germany commits to establishing a federal crude oil reserve
- 1971
Start of cavern operations in Etzel by IVG Industrieverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH
- 1973
Begin of leaching (solutions mining) of 33 caverns in the Etzel salt dome
- 1977
Completion of the first caverns for storage of around 10 million tonnes of crude oil (strategic crude oil reserve)
- 1989–1992
Conversion of nine caverns for gas storage
- 1993
Commissioning as a gas storage facility for natural gas
- 1994
Construction of seven more caverns
- 2005
IVG Caverns GmbH takes over the facilities from the federal government
- 2007
Development from crude oil storage into one of the largest gas storage sites in Europe
- 2010
LBEG approves the Etzel III natural gas storage station with 25 additional salt caverns; launch of the cavern information center
- 2012
75 caverns in operation with a total volume of 46 million cubic meters; 99 caverns approved, final expansion to 144 caverns planned
- 2024
LBEG grants STORAG Etzel GmbH the Maja exploration field for a new cavern field (Jever-Berdum) for the storage of green hydrogen
- 2026
Completion of the recompletion of the fourth gas cavern planned