Angry Dutch citizens on Thursday will ask their country’s highest court to put an immediate end to gas production in the Groningen region due to the risk of life-endangering earthquakes.
17 Jan 2019
THE HAGUE: Angry Dutch citizens on Thursday will ask their country’s highest court to put an immediate end to gas production in the Groningen region due to the risk of life-endangering earthquakes.
Decades of extraction from what once was Europe’s largest natural gas field have led to dozens of minor tremors every year, damaging thousands of homes and sparking unrest among locals.
An unusually severe, magnitude 3.4 quake prompted the Dutch government last year to decide to end production by 2030 and to lower it as quickly as possible in coming years.
Gas production at Groningen is run by NAM, a 50-50 joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil.
Output is set to drop to 19.4 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the year that began in October, down 65 percent from its 2013 peak, and will be cut by another 75 percent in the next five years, the government said in December.
But many in the region still feel their safety concerns are being ignored, as tremors are expected to continue, while numerous attempts to set up a compensation scheme for damage and repairs have failed.
The Dutch High Court last week said it would hear two “pressing” objections to the government’s production plans on Thursday, while 26 other complaints from local authorities and interest groups would be dealt with in April.
The petitioners demand drilling be stopped immediately, or at least capped at 12 bcm per year, a level the Dutch gas regulator last year said would limit risks.
A sudden halt to output would put the Netherlands in a tight spot, as the country still depends on Groningen gas for a significant part of its energy supply and export obligations.
The High Court in 2017 said certainty of supply should play a role in decisions on the production level, but should not outweigh safety concerns.
The court expects to take a few weeks to reach a verdict.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Dale Hudson)
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
