The company has now discovered five new oil fields in the North Sea in just one year, it announced at the international trade fair “Offshore Northern Seas” (ONS) in Stavanger. “The expansion of our activities in our core region North Sea, especially on the Norwegian continental shelf, is making good progress,” Martin Bachmann, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of Wintershall Holding GmbH and responsible for Exploration and Production, explained.

Join us on a fascinating journey into the world of oil and gas and sample the many different facets of our business. Our core regions, Europe, North America, South America, Russia and the Middle East, are the focus of our journey through 2009. You can find out about the start of construction of the natural gas cavern storage facility in Jemgum or the laying of the foundation stone for the OPAL in Lubmin. You can also revisit the World Gas Conference in Argentina and follow us to the exploration zone in Patagonia.

Follow us on a fascinating journey into the world of oil and gas and experience the numerous facets of our business. We’ll focus as we go on our core regions, Europe, North Africa, South America, Russia and the Caspian Sea region. You’ll also get to see the production start at the Yuzhno Russkoye natural gas field at –42 degrees in Siberia, or one of the world’s most modern platform control centers in the Netherlands, from which Wintershall controls 18 platforms by radio.

BASF and Russia’s OAO Gazprom officially launched natural gas production at the joint venture ZAO Achimgaz in Siberia. The German-Russian joint venture produces natural gas and condensate from the Achimov Formation, from which it also gets its name, in the Urengoy deposit.

It was made quite clear at the international “EU-Russia Energy Dialog: Perspectives in the Gas Industry” conference on 20 May 2008 in Berlin that Europe will become even more dependent on natural gas imports for its energy supply in the future. Clear and transparent conditions must therefore be established, as explicitly pointed out by all conference participants in their speeches.

Impressions from Wintershall's core regions: Europe (platforms F-16 and A6-A in the North Sea, Mittelplate production island, Barnstorf and Emlichheim crude oil production facilities, production in Bavaria), North Africa (oil production in Libya), South America (Carina Aries/offshore of Argentina), Russia (Achimgaz in western Siberia).

Wintershall has expanded its long-standing partnership with Russia's Gazprom, also in the areas of exploration and production. Contents: Achimgaz joint venture well site in the (day and night) cold of western Siberia, freight transport through the tundra, pipeline construction, gas processing facilities, and town scenes in Nowy Urengoy.

Learn more about natural gas production under extreme conditions in Russia. Wintershall and Russia’s OAO Gazprom officially commissioned the Russian Yuzhno Russkoye natural gas field in December 2007, and Wintershall is therefore the first German company to produce natural gas directly in Western Siberia.

Germany is an important exploration and production area. Contents: Mittelplate drilling and production island with connection pipeline, A6-A gas production platform in the North Sea, Barnstorf plant (Lower Saxony), production facilities in Aitingen (Bavaria) and Emlichheim (Lower Saxony).

Wintershall has been producing domestic oil in the Aitingen field (Bavaria) since the end of the 70s. Six wells are up and running in the Aitingen field. Contents: Seismic measurements, drilling work, views of the site, audio clips of a geologist (speaking about the composition of the rocks, progress of drilling work).

In the Netherlands Wintershall is one of the biggest producers of natural gas and operates more than 25 offshore platforms. The F16-A platform, the biggest production platform built to date, was installed in 2005. Contents: Installation of the Q4-C natural gas production platform (transport, positioning of the jacket), impressions of the F16-A.

To do so, the largest German-based oil and gas producer intends to invest more than 300 million euros by 2010.
Wintershall had also installed one of the most modern platform control rooms in the world, which allows the company to monitor and control its gas production platforms in the Dutch sector of the North Sea centrally.

Kassel has been home to Wintershall for decades now. In 2007 the company was celebrating the 50th anniversary of its headquarters in Friedrich Ebert Straße 160.

Mauritania offers German companies many raw materials apart from oil and gas: Arouse the interest of German industry in Mauritania – that was the aim of the first “Mauritanian Raw Materials Day” at Wintershall Holding AG in Kassel.

Together with its partners, Wintershall is currently producing in the Carina and Aries natural gas fields. The project off the coast of Tierra del Fuego is Argentina’s biggest ever offshore natural gas production development.

The German-Russian Festival took place for the second time between June 6 and 8 at the Karlshorst horseracing track in Berlin. The main objective of the event was to give visitors the opportunity to experience aspects of both Russian and German culture and cuisine.