AMSTERDAM, March 5 (Reuters) - The Netherlands will not

permit companies to drill for gas in the Dutch part of the

protected Wadden Sea, the Dutch government said on Tuesday in a

move that will block planned exploration by Shell and

ExxonMobil ( XOM ) joint venture NAM.

Mining minister Hans Vijlbrief said new projections for an

accelerated rise of sea levels due to climate change had altered

the picture for gas drilling at the site, increasing risks that

extraction could pose for the seabed.

NAM discovered gas reserves of up to 40 billion cubic metres

(bcm) in the Wadden Sea in the mid-1990s and forecast additional

volumes of 30 to 130 bcm might be found there.

Since then, the issue of gas drilling in the environmentally

sensitive nature reserve has become a sensitive topic.

The Wadden Sea is a UNESCO World Heritage site but last year

the United Nations warned it could lose that status if gas

drilling were to be permitted there.