The Netherlands wants to shut down operations of Europe’s largest gas field, Groningen, by October as operations are “very dangerous” to continue and further gas extraction poses the risk of causing increased seismic activity in the region.
However, the war in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions on Russian gas have put the European nation in a difficult spot. Hans Vijlbrief, state secretary for mining, said he aims to close the earthquake-prone Groningen gas field by 1 October however, the Europe gas shortage in winter might delay the plans altogether till October 2024.
Due to the danger of high seismic activity in the region, the production at the gas field has been cut short to just a fraction of its full capacity, said Vijlbrief in a conversation with Financial Times.
“We won’t open up more because of the safety issues,” he said adding, “It is politically totally unviable. But apart from that, I’m not going to do it because it means that you increase the chances of earthquakes, which I don’t want to be responsible for.”
In Netherlands’ northeast, the Groningen gas field is close to the German border and has felt about 100 tremors annually since the 1980s.
The gas excavation was increased during summers after Russian sanctions but due to the increased risk of earthquakes, the annual output has been reduced to 2.8 bcm. Vijlbrief said that it is potentially dangerous to take production beyond 5bcm.
“It’s very, very simple: everybody who has some knowledge of earthquake danger tells me that it’s really very dangerous to keep on producing there. I’m quite convinced it’s wise to close it down,” Vijlbrief said.
He also revealed that the previous government’s approach to addressing the impending danger was lackadaisical and “it was crystal clear that the whole safety aspect of Groningen gas drilling was neglected for many years.”
Opened in 1963, Groningen, pumped out over 50 bcm at its peak nearly a decade ago. Netherlands instructed gas operator NAM, a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil, to reduce production in 2013. In 2018, the Netherlands announced the field would close however the plan has since been delayed.
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