Baker Hughes granted geothermal exploration permit in Altencelle, Germany
Celle in Lower Saxony, Germany (source: Aleksandr Zykov / flickr, Creative Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
27 Apr 2023
Baker Hughes has been granted a geothermal exploration permit in the Altencelle field in Lower Saxony, Germany through Celle-based Baker Hughes InteQ GmbH.
The State Office for Mining, Energy, and Geology (LBEG) in Lower Saxony, Germany has assigned the Altencelle permit field to Baker Hughes InteQ GmbH, based in Celle. This grants Baker Hughes a five-year permit for geothermal energy exploration for commercial purposes until 14 April 2028.
The Altencelle permit field has an area of 133 square kilometers and extends in an almost square shape around the district town of Celle.
Baker Hughes InteQ GmbH applied for a permit to explore for geothermal energy at the end of November 2022. LBEG examined the application and gave the Celle Hannover district affected by the area the opportunity to comment and informed the joint municipalities of Flotwedel and Wathlingen, the municipalities of Adelheidsdorf, Hambühren, Nienhagen, Winsen (Aller) and the monastery community of Wienhausen, it now has the Permission granted.
The permit only gives Baker Hughes InteQ GmbH the basic right to carry out the search. Actual exploration activities may only take place after approval of operating plans under mining law, for which, among other things, a separate participation procedure is necessary.
A similar permit had recently been granted to Eavor GmbH for the Buchholz permit field, also in Lower Saxony. The LBEG has now reached a new peak in the number of permits allocated to geothermal exploration – 14 in Lower Saxony, and 1 in Hamburg.
Source: LBEG Niedersachsen
