Germany's oil output down 9.5%, gas output off 3.2% in 2019

FRANKFURT, March 16 (Reuters) - Germany produced 1.9 million tonnes of domestic oil and 6.1 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas in 2019, respectively 9.5% less and 3.2% less than a year earlier, its industry association BVEG said on Monday. Producers of hydrocarbons that are active in Germany include Neptune Energy, Vermilion Energy, Wintershall-DEA and BEB, a joint venture of ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell . The companies grouped by BVEG are mostly also active abroad where their activities are far larger. Production of oil in Germany peaked in the 1960s and of gas in the 1990s. Reserves and staff numbers have been falling continuously and the country is overwhelmingly dependent on imports. The year-on-year increase in BVEG members' foreign production volumes was 13.6% in gas and 3.7% in oil, the Hanover-based association showed in its annual report. The companies achieved a turnover of 1.8 billion euros ($2.00 billion), up from 1.7 billion a year earlier. BVEG Managing Director Ludwig Moehring said that gas and oil were still playing a central role in heat and transport, sectors which were transitioning to greater reliance on electric power and hydrogen in the long-term. However, hydrocarbons would continue to play a back-up role while green technologies were under development. Germany could not quickly become fully supplied with hydrogen from green sources. Hoped-for import sources, for example Northern African solar power, were only theoretical options for now. Also, with coal-burning being phased out under climate legislation, more gas would be needed for power generation. Germany has 23.9 billion cubic metres of underground gas storage capacity, just under a quarter of total demand in the market, which was 100.52 bcm last year. Gas production 2019 2018 Gas production 28.6 bcm 26.1 bcm of which indigenous 6.1 bcm 6.3 bcm abroad 22.5 bcm 19.8 bcm Oil production 10.4 mln T 10.3 mln T - indigenous 1.9 mln T 2.1 mln T - abroad 8.5 mln T 8.2 mln T Exploration taxes paid 194 mln € 270 mln € Domestic reserves Estimated gas reserves* 43.6 bcm 50.3 bcm Estimated oil reserves* 28.0 mln T 29.0 mln T Employees 8,246 8,291 * secure and probable reserves numbers combined ($1 = 0.9000 euros) (Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by XXX)