The controversial extraction of natural gas in the North Sea near the German island of Borkum is moving closer to becoming a reality after a responsible authority gave its approval. The Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG) in the northern German state of Lower Saxony said on Wednesday it granted the Dutch energy company ONE-Dyas an 18-year permit for drilling under the seabed. Under the terms of the deal, the drilling and extraction would be halted if it was determined that Germany no longer needed natural gas as an energy source. Europe’s biggest economy is aiming to accelerate the us…