Over 90 years of tradition and specialist expertise

1974

The German section of TENP, the trans-European pipeline running from the Netherlands through Germany to Switzerland and on to Italy, is commissioned.

1981

The completion of the MEGAL pipeline from Northern Bavaria to the Saarland is the final link in the European natural gas network – with it, Ruhrgas has made a major contribution to Europeanising the supply of natural gas.

2000

From 1950 to 2000 the share of natural gas in primary energy consumption in Germany increases from 0.1 % to 21.1 %.

2003 - 2008

Foundation of Ruhrgas Transport AG & Co. KG, later renamed E.ON Gastransport GmbH. By 2008 the workforce has increased to around 300.

2008

In October 2008, bayernets and E.ON Gastransport merge their H-gas market areas to establish NetConnect Germany GmbH & Co. KG (NCG), thus creating the first market area co-operation in Germany. Responsibility for balancing group management and for operating the VTP is taken over by NCG.

2010

In September the company is renamed Open Grid Europe GmbH. The business gains certification as an Independent Transmission Operator (ITO). With the integration of all technical departments, the number of employees rises to around 1,450.

2011

August sees the start of the marketing of entry and exit capacities at border crossing points and market area boundaries on TRAC-X primary (renamed PRISMA European Capacity Platform GmbH in 2013). The German transmission system operators are thus compliant with one of the requirements of the gas network access ordinance calling for a joint marketing platform. Since September 2011, OGE and the Belgian transmission system operator Fluxys have been offering the first bundled capacity product linking the Zeebrugge Hub in Belgium to NCG’s VTP.

2012

In July, the sale of OGE to a consortium consisting of British Columbia Investment Management, ADIA, Macquarie and MEAG is completed.

The Federal Network Agency in Bonn coordinates the development of the first nationwide gas network development plan (NDP Gas).

2012 - 2019

OGE invests 2.5 billion euros in the expansion of its gas infrastructure – including the development of the Werne compressor station (to allow the reversal of gas flows from south to north and vice versa) – and in the new Herbstein compressor station as well as the expansion of existing stations. 

After 2 ½ years of construction, the 141-km loop pipeline between Schwandorf, Forchheim and Finsing (LSF/LFF) in Bavaria is successfully brought on stream. Construction also begins on ZEELINK, a crucial pipeline for the market area conversion from L-gas to H-gas and security of supply in Germany. The total length of ZEELINK is 216 km, and the partners in the project are OGE (75 %) and Thyssengas GmbH (25 %). Completion of the pipeline and its two compressor stations is scheduled for March 2021.

2020 - 2023

From 1 January 2020, standardised fees apply in both of the German market areas. 

In April 2021, a cooperation agreement providing for the merger of the two gas market areas GASPOOL and NetConnect Germany to form the Trading Hub Europe (THE) market area is signed in Berlin. The new market area starts trading on 1 October 2021.

In May 2021, one of Germany's largest infrastructure projects in recent years – the ZEELINK transmission pipeline – is completed on time and on budget.

To significantly accelerate the development of the hydrogen economy in Germany, OGE and RWE develop a national infrastructure concept named "H₂ercules" and present it to the public in March 2022.

OGE publishes its first sustainability report in June 2022.

OGE completed the WAL pipeline for the new LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven by the end of 2022 as planned. The pipeline is a huge step towards gaining independence from Russian natural gas as quickly as possible.

In March 2023, the sale of Macquarie's indirect shareholding in Vier Gas Transport GmbH and Open Grid Europe GmbH to the Belgian company Fluxys was completed.