Dutch plan to boost gas production at earthquake-prone site sparks outrage

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Residents of the Groningen region of the Netherlands have expressed outrage at the Dutch government’s plan to double production this year from the Groningen gas field, which has been hit by earthquakes in the past.

The Dutch government said Thursday it may need more gas to pump into Groningen, once Europe’s largest gas field, which the Netherlands has pledged to phase out this decade after repeated earthquakes in past damaged homes in the region.

After years of discussions and measures to limit production at the field, the Dutch government decided in 2018 that production in Groningen would be finished by 2030, with a two-thirds reduction until 2021-2022 and another reduction after that. Authorities had already limited production from the field due to earthquakes, but decided in 2018 that the risks and costs were no longer acceptable.

The government now says there is a need to extract more gas from the Groningen gas field in 2022 to ensure supply due to long-term export contracts with Germany and delays in commissioning a facility in the Netherlands to process imported gas for use in the Netherlands. families.

The government is expected to make a final decision by April 1 on how much gas will be extracted from Groningen this year.

“I realize it’s really frustrating for people in the earthquake area that it’s already proven that it’s necessary to extract more gas,” Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Stef Blok said on Friday, as reported by the Associated Press.

Earth Movement Groningen, a group of residents who have suffered damage from earthquakes, has criticized a plan to extract more gas in the field.

The movement said the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy was manipulating the safety of people in Groningen, adding that “the government should not and cannot take the safety of its citizens lightly”.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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