After about 60 years, the Netherlands stopped producing natural gas in Groningen. The responsible state secretary, Hans Vijlbrief, announced in The Hague that production from the gas fields in the north-eastern province would be discontinued on October 1st.
It is a historic step, even if the decision was expected. The reason for this is the great damage caused by numerous earthquakes. “We’re really turning the tap off,” said the Secretary of State. Initially, however, the gas field will remain as an emergency reserve for bottlenecks. From October 2024, the conveyor systems would be demolished.
The state secretary admitted that the citizens’ problems had not yet been solved. “But the source of misery is closed from October.” The citizens’ initiative Groninger Bodem Beweging welcomed the decision as a “nice first step”.
Another 450 billion cubic meters of natural gas
The gas deposits in the region near Lower Saxony are among the largest in Europe. Gas has been mined there since 1963. It is estimated that there are still 450 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the field. This roughly corresponds to the country’s gas consumption for ten years.
The government had already announced in 2018 that it would end gas production. But in the course of the energy crisis as a result of the Ukraine war, production was extended. According to the government, the energy supply is secure and the gas storage facilities are well stocked.
Gas production had gone from a blessing to a nightmare. The natural gas field was discovered in 1959 and made the Netherlands the second largest natural gas producer in Europe after Norway. In 60 years, more than 2300 billion cubic meters were promoted, about half of it for export, also to Germany. The state made good money: more than 360 billion euros, the oil companies Shell and Exxon Mobil around 66 billion euros.
Earthquake and damaged houses
But the production led to around 1600 earthquakes over the years. Tens of thousands of buildings were severely damaged, around 100,000 people were affected. In recent years, there has been anger and despair among citizens, who have still not been compensated years later.
A parliamentary commission of inquiry came to the devastating verdict this spring: the state and the oil companies Shell and Exxon Mobil had systematically disregarded the safety of citizens for decades. “Money was more important than safety and health”. The government and oil companies acknowledged mistakes. In April, the government promised the damaged regions 22 billion euros in compensation.
Plans for drilling in the North Sea
Meanwhile, new drillings are planned in the Wadden Sea. A Dutch company wants to produce natural gas from a field between the islands of Schiermonnikoog (Netherlands) and Borkum from the end of 2024. But for the time being, a court in The Hague has prohibited preparatory construction work. The construction freeze applies until the main proceedings on the lawsuit against the gas drilling have been decided. That is probably in September.
Several German and Dutch environmental organizations and the city of Borkum had complained. The Netherlands had given the green light for the funding. On the German side, the planning approval process is still ongoing.
