Wintershall

Hazardous waste has been stored in part of the Wintershall potash mine in the Werra region of eastern Hesse/Germany since 1972. The Herfa-Neurode underground waste disposal site, which today belongs to the K+S Werra Verbundwerk, is the longest-serving and largest of its kind in the world, setting standards in safe storage to this day (Figure 1). Now, the 50th anniversary of the landfill was celebrated with a festive colloquium, which brought together representatives of the German waste management industry.

About 100 guests met in the Friedewald festival hall to exchange views on developments in the landfilling and reutilisation of waste. To the sounds of the K+S miners’ band Wintershall, Friedewald’s mayor Julian Kempka welcomed the visitors as host. His colleague from Heringen, Daniel Iliev, on whose municipal territory the underground storage site is located, emphasised the good, transparent cooperation between the city and the company. He said this was indispensable, especially in the sensitive but also important dumping of hazardous waste: “I am glad that we are working together here to ensure that the remains of our affluent society are safely stored,” said Iliev.

The head of the K+S Werra plant, Martin Ebeling, also declared: “We are putting a lot of effort and expertise into ensuring that safety prevails and quality requirements are met. This is a prerequisite for the 50-year success story of the Herfa-Neurode underground waste disposal site and the acceptance in our region that is necessary for it.” In this way, K+S and the REKS joint venture, which is managed together with REMEX, can make an important contribution to waste disposal safety in Germany as a sales partner, REKS managing director Martin Brown also emphasised: “Hazardous waste is produced in society and industry. These substances are in the world and must be stored in a safe place.” This is exactly what is possible in Herfa-Neurode due to the special geological conditions, he said.

All speakers at the colloquium emphasised the safety aspect in their contributions: With a total of four Class 4 underground landfills, in which hazardous waste is stored for which there is no other use, Germany has a special disposal option that is the envy of many countries. In the underground disposal sites in the salt rock, the waste is kept away from the environment for a long time and without aftercare – and this has been happening for decades without incident.

Arnd Schneider, head of the Herfa-Neurode underground waste disposal site, explained that in addition to the geological conditions with a water- and gas-tight salt deposit, this also requires a complex safety system with several artificial barriers and intensive control of the waste. Every four years, he said, the long-term safety record is reviewed, for which up to 100,000 years into the future are looked at. Since the first tonne of waste salts from an oil refinery was deposited in Herfa-Neurode on 4th September 1972, more than 3.5 Mt of hazardous waste have been safely disposed of so far. And the landfill still offers enough space to continue storage for several decades.

Other well-wishers included Sandra Giern (Federal Association of the German Waste Management, Water and Recycling Industry), Thomas Kießling (ERCOSPLAN Ingenieurgesellschaft Geotechnik und Bergbau), Carsten Spohn (Interessen­gemeinschaft der Thermischen Abfallbehandlungsanlagen in Deutschland), Andreas Ellerkmann (Indaver Deutsch­land), Torsten Zuber (REKS) and Dirk Röth (BAUREKA Baustoff-Recycling). In their speeches, they addressed various aspects of waste disposal, recycling management and landfilling. And they unanimously wished the birthday child, the Herfa-Neurode underground landfill, 50 more years of successful and safe operation in the disposal of hazardous waste. (K+S/Si.)

Maria Moraeus Hanssen, COO and Deputy CEO of Wintershall Dea, Hamburg and Kassel, will leave the company on 31st December 2019 in order to pursue other opportunities. Until that time she will continue in her present role providing board-level leadership of the EMEA business units and the merger integration.

On 6th November 2018, BASF and LetterOne resolved to appoint Paul Smith as the future CFO and member of the board of management of Wintershall DEA. His appointment comes into effect on completion of the merger between Wintershall and DEA. Subject to obtaining the standard authorisations from the relevant government authorities, this is expected to take place within the first half of 2019. Smith has over 25 years of international experience in the oil and gas industry, having previously worked for Vesta Energy, Talisman Energy and BP

Andreas Scheck has taken the decision to leave Wintershall Deutschland, Kassel/Germany, to pursue a new challenge in his career. Volker Riha, previously Head of Self-operated Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production and deputy to Scheck, has assumed the managerial role provisionally.

Oil and gas group Wintershall, Kassel/Germany, has appointed Hugo Dijkgraaf Managing Director of its Norwegian subsidiary. He succeeds Bernd Schrimpf, who has retired.

Thilo Wieland, former General Manager of Wintershall Libya, was appointed to the Board of Executive Directors at Wintershall Holding GmbH, Kassel/Germany, on 1st December 2015 and is responsible for Exploration & Production in Russia, North Africa and South America.

Wintershall Holding GmbH, based in Kassel, has expanded its Board of Management and also appointed Thilo Wieland from the Department of Exploration & Production in Russia, North Africa and South America to the Supervisory Board.

Mario Mehren, former Head of Exploration and Production in Russia, North Africa and South America, succeeded Rainer Seele as Chairman of the Board of Management at Wintershall Holding GmbH, Kassel (Germany), on 1st June 2015.