The Dutch Senate has approved the permanent closure of the valves at the Groningen natural gas field (north), the largest in Europe. Its exploitation was the cause of earthquakes which shook local residents for decades. The tap will be definitively cut off on October 1, 2024, one year after the end of exploitation of the deposit and after years of political struggle.
“The government thus wishes to provide more clarity and certainty regarding the definitive end of gas extraction,” the Upper House said in a press release on Tuesday evening. Since last October, the authorities have maintained operational extraction units in the event of a “very harsh” winter, against a backdrop of persistent geopolitical tensions.
Operated since 1963
The deposit had been exploited since 1963 but for more than twenty years, the population has suffered low magnitude earthquakes close to the surface, due to the vacuum pockets formed during gas extraction, which caused numerous damages. After rejoicing in 2018 at the announced closure of the deposit, local residents became disillusioned with warnings from experts that earthquakes could continue for years.
Many of them also found themselves facing a legal and technical quagmire relating to compensation. And if gas extraction has gradually been reduced almost to nothing, The Hague decided in 2022 to postpone the closing of the valves due to global energy uncertainties largely caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine . “A debt of honor must be paid to the population of Groningen, first of all by speeding up the strengthening of buildings and the settlement of the damage,” the Senate said.
A residents’ campaign group, the Groningen Bodem Beweging (GBB), called the law a “historic moment”, saying they were “happy and relieved”, even if the decision is “bittersweet”. Critics of the decision have expressed concerns about the security of gas supplies to the Netherlands, particularly given the uncertainties caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.