Apply for Section 28 Approval for Activities under the Danish Subsoil Act

Under Section 28 of the Danish Subsoil Act, approval from the Danish Energy Agency regarding equipment, work program and method of execution must be obtained before any work covered by the Act is initiated.

Approvals may be granted with conditions, and certain types of work require separate assessments of potential impacts on the environment and nature protection areas, cf. Sections 28a–28c of the Subsoil Act and the Environmental Assessment Act.

See the Danish Subsoil Act at retsinformation.dk

See the Environmental Assessment Act at retsinformation.dk

A Section 28 approval typically covers works such as:

• Drilling of new wells

• Well operations, maintenance or modifications on existing wells

• Geophysical or geotechnical surveys

• Other activities of technical or environmental relevance under the Subsoil Act 

This list is not exhaustive. Further guidance on activities subject to Section 28 approval are available in our guidelines:Vejledning for, hvornår der kræves godkendelse efter undergrundsloven af arbejder, der udføres på eksisterende brønde offshore(the guidelines are currently only available in Danish. An English version is being prepared). If in doubt about whether a planned activity requires approval under Section 28, you may contact the Danish Energy Agency.

The approval must be applied for by the license holder or the operator responsible for the relevant exclusive permit or exploration permit.

Applications may also be submitted by consultants acting on behalf of the license holder.

If no exploration permit under Section 3 of the Subsoil Act has yet been granted, such a permit may be issued in connection with the Section 28 approval for the planned work.

Processing time will depend on the type and scope of the works applied for.

Missing information or documentation will typically result in delays.

Danish Energy Agency – Center for geoenergy and storage

Carsten Niebuhrs Gade 43, 1577 Copenhagen V Denmark

General inquiries: ens@ens.dk

CO2 storage:  ccs-lagring@ens.dk

Oil & gas, geothermal energy, salt production and gas storage:

indvindingsekr@ens.dk

Phone: +45 33 92 67 00