Liberalization
The Danish gas market was liberalized in 2004 and ever since end customers have had the right to choose among gas suppliers.
Nord Pool Gas support further competition by delivering a transparent and trustworthy wholesale gas price.
History of the market
Natural gas is used everywhere on the globe and make up approximately one quarter of the world’s energy consumption.
The increasing use of natural gas provides significant environmental benefits because natural gas is the cleanest of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas).
It is estimated that globally there are natural gas reserves to cover more than 60 years of consumption.
The Danish natural gas market started in the 1960s when oil and natural gas were discovered in the North Sea. In the 1980s, the first natural gas from the North Sea was delivered to the Danish consumers.
At the beginning of the new millennium, the liberalization of the Danish gas market started. In 2004, all gas consumers were given the right to choose their own supplier.
As a consequence of the liberalization, the Nordic gas exchange Nord Pool Gas was established in 2008.
| 1962 | Maersk Oil is established (now Maersk Olie og Gas A / S) and AP Moller is awarded concession for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in Denmark. |
| 1972 | Danish Oil and Natural Gas A/S is created by the Danish state. A year later the name is changed to Danish Oil and Natural Gas A/S (DONG). |
| 1979 | DONG and the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC) sign the first natural gas contract. That same year the first of five regional distribution companies is created. These municipally owned companies will be responsible for sales of natural gas to small and medium sized consumers. |
| 1980 | Construction of the gas transmission pipeline system begins. The transmission network is the backbone of the Danish natural gas network. |
| 1984 | The main part of the natural gas transmission system is completed. DUC delivers the first Danish natural gas from the North Sea (Tyra) on 1 October. |
| 1985 | DONG starts exporting natural gas to Sweden. |
| 1987 | The first Danish underground natural gas storage facility in Lille Torup is put into operation. |
| 1994 | DONG opens its second underground natural gas storage facility in Stenlille. |
| 2000 | The new legislation following the EU directive enters into force, and 30% of the Danish natural gas market opens to competition. |
| 2004 | The gas market in Denmark is fully liberalized. As of 1 January, natural gas consumers are free to, choose their gas supplier. |
| 2005 | Energinet.dk. is established as a joint Danish transmission company for electricity and gas. |
| 2006 | DONG Energy buys Elsam and Energi E2. EU conditions the purchase on DONG implementing a so-called two-way gas release. In practice this means that DONG Energy will sell 10% of the annual Danish gas consumption at auction and sell the gas storage facility in Lille Torup to Energinet.dk. |
| 2007 | For the first time, the commercial need for the import of gas is larger than the actual export of Danish gas, creating a bottleneck in the border point (Ellund) with Germany. |
| 2008 | The Nordic gas exchange, Nord Pool Gas opens for trade on 4 March. Nord Pool Gas was established by Energinet.dk and Nord Pool Spot (the Nordic Power Exchange) with a vision to promote competition and create greater transparency for consumers. |
| 2009 | Government adopts the “Green Growth” package, which states that fee and grant terms must equate biogas production for the gas system with biogas production for CHP systems. |
| 2010 | Ministry of Climate and Energy approves the expansion of the transmission network towards Germany. |
Contact
For further information:
Anders Cassøe
Business Developer
e-mail: aca@npgas.com
Phone: +45 3145 1165