DutchNews.nl

Damning report slams state, oil companies for Groningen gas failures

February 24, 2023 – By Robin Pascoe

The interests of the people of Groningen were systematically ignored by both the government and oil companies, and making money remained the dominant concern when natural gas extraction started causing earthquakes, according to the parliamentary commission set up to investigate.

The worlds of those making the decisions and the locals were ‘miles apart’, commission chief Tom van der Lee said at the presentation of the report into the problems, which has taken two years and hundreds of interviews to complete.

Gas extraction has become an ‘unprecedented system failure’ and both the public and private sector have failed in their duties, Van der Lee said.

Ministers were not properly informed and that meant that MPs could not fulfill their role as guardians of the public interest. The damage, both material and mental, suffered by locals was consistently underestimated and the maximalisation of profit was the guiding force. read more

“Gas extraction in Groningen was so successful and lucrative for the Dutch government, Shell and Exxon Mobil that they hardly took any notion of the long-term risks and the ever-clearer signs of the detrimental effects for the people in Groningen…” 

REUTERS

Dutch gov’t, Shell and Exxon ignored Groningen risks for years, inquiry finds

AMSTERDAM, Feb 24 (Reuters) – The Dutch government and energy companies Shell (SHEL.L) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) ignored the risks of gas production in Groningen for years, to the detriment of people living in the province, a parliamentary inquiry concluded on Friday.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and others involved “gravely underestimated” the urgency of the problems in Groningen, said the committee set up to investigate the decades of lucrative gas extraction that caused tremors damaging thousands of houses and buildings in the region.

The massive Groningen field is operated by Shell and Exxon joint venture NAM and was one of Europe’s major suppliers of natural gas for decades.

“These are hard and painful conclusions,” Rutte told a news conference. “They make clear there is a lot to do to help the region and to hopefully restore trust.”

The government will take time provide a full response to the report, he said without indicating how long that would take.

A statement from NAM director Johan Atema said: “It is clear that we need to have a better eye for the society in which we work. It is up to us to show that we as a company have learned from this.” read more

OILPRICE.COM

Netherlands To Shut Down Europe’s Largest Gas Field

By Irina Slav – Jan 23, 2023, 7:30 AM CST

The Dutch government plans to close the Groningen gas field this year despite Europe’s precarious supply position. Groningen is the largest gas field in Europe.

The field is dangerous, a government official from the Hague told the Financial Times, and the government has no plans to boost production from it.

“We won’t open up more because of the safety issues,” Hans Vijbrief told the FT. “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.” read more

thenationalnews.com

Shell boss reveals regrets and pride as he steps down after decade

Ben van Beurden’s regrets were linked to financial issues in the Arctic and safety at a Dutch oilfield

Soraya Ebrahimi: Oct 28, 2022

Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden has said he regretted not acting earlier on two problems linked to the environment, as he prepares to step down after nearly a decade in charge.

Mr van Beurden said he should have acted in 2015 on data coming out of the Groningen gasfield in the Netherlands. read more

OILPRICE.COM

Exxon And Shell Look To Sell $1.5 Billion Natural Gas Venture

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Sep 06, 2022, 9:30 AM CDT

Supermajors ExxonMobil and Shell are looking to sell their 50/50 NAM natural gas producing joint venture in the Netherlands in a potential sale worth up to $1.5 billion, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing industry sources and a document it had seen.

Shell and Esso set up the NAM joint venture in the 1950s and started producing gas from the giant Groningen field in the Netherlands in the 1960s. According to NAM’s website, the company supplies 75% of the natural gas required by Dutch households and businesses. A total of 93% of all Dutch households use natural gas and gas accounts for 45% of all the energy that is used in the Netherlands.

Shell and Exxon’s decision to sell one of the oldest gas-producing ventures would be part of both companies’ plans to divest aging assets they no longer consider core to their respective operations, Reuters notes.

According to Reuters’ sources, NAM’s assets up for sale – including three gas processing plants, pipeline networks, and offshore gas fields – could be valued at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.

The two international majors expect that the current dire need for gas supply in Europe and the high natural gas prices could make those assets attractive to prospective buyers, the sources told Reuters. read more

NL TIMES

Designate Groningen earthquakes a national crisis, Ombudsman says

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2021

The consequences of the fracking earthquakes in Groningen have all the features of a national crisis and should therefore be designated as such, National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen said. He wants this to keep attention on the situation in Groningen until homes are reinforced, damages are repaired, and residents feel safe, Trouw reports.

“I wanted to choose words that hit so hard that people think: damn it, now we really have to do something,” the National Ombudsman said in an interview with Trouw. “In one way or another, the attention for Groningen is disappearing. Things are taking too long, and the good things don’t really happen. This is a national crisis, which the government and administration have to deal with differently.” read more

NAM director calls for rethink on Groningen earthquake damage

Just 50 not 26,000 homes in the Groningen earthquake area need strengthening to comply with the latest safety standards, according to Johan Atema, director of gas company NAM in the NRC.

So far 2,000 homes have been strengthened because they are vulnerable to the quakes, caused by the ground settling after natural gas has been extracted. And only half the 26,000 homes identified as being problematic have actually been inspected. read more

NAM disputes Groningen gas extraction earthquake damage claims

NAM, the Dutch gas concern responsible for gas extraction in Groningen, raised doubts about the level of damage claims and the home strengthening operation in the fracking earthquake zone in the province. In a statement, NAM said that a major part of the damages was wrongly attributed to earthquakes, and that the standards of the reinforcement project are far too strict, NOS reports.

According to NAM, the risks in the earthquake zone are grossly overestimated, and as a result, many homes will be reinforced with measures that far outweigh the risks, “for some buildings even by a factor of a thousand to ten thousand”. “This leads to unnecessary feelings of insecurity among residents and additional costs.” read more

Shell: Regaining Dividend Respectability And Shifting Toward Green Hydrogen

The Daily Drilling Report: 10 November 2020

• Shell is taking a healthy approach toward energy transition and balancing capital projects in terms of energy source.
• It’s also forging a leadership position in two key fuels that have been identified as being crucial to meeting Paris Climate goals – natural gas and hydrogen.
• Shell is back in our good grades with its recent dividend raise and strong earnings prospects going forward.
• At its recent price in the mid-$20s it represents a nice risk reward profile.

The question is, is the dividend safe? The answer here is yes, as it has just been raised. It seems Uncle Ben has heard the hue and cry of outraged shareholders, and is restoring some of what he took away just last quarter.

Ben Van Beurden, CEO Shell:

So we are announcing an increase of 4% in our dividends this quarter. But we’re also announcing a target milestone for our net debt of $65 billion for the near term. And once we have achieved this milestone, we target to further increase shareholder distribution. So we are not offering the promise of future growth, but also increasing shareholder distributions for the near term. read more

Gas company NAM to cut hundreds of jobs as prices drop and production is squeezed

October 15, 2020

Dutch gas company NAM is cutting its workforce by hundreds of jobs as gas prices fall and production is cut back.

Over the next six months, 200 to 300 of the permanent workforce of 1,300 will be able to take advantage of a voluntary redundancy scheme and a further 300 contract workers will be let go, regional paper Dagblad van het Noorden said.

Director Johan Atema told the paper that the company had been hit by falling gas prices. ‘We are supplying almost as much gas as last year, but our income has halved,’ he said. ‘Then you are talking about a crisis situation.’ read more

Shell, XOM to seek arbitration against Netherlands: report

May 29, 2020

Shell and ExxonMobil will file an arbitration claim against the Netherlands government over compensation for the early closure of gas field, according to Global Arbitration Review (GAR).

The companies operate the Groningen gas field through NAM — a 50-50 Dutch joint venture. Production from the onshore gas field causes earthquakes affecting local communities, which has prompted the government to shut it down early.

NAM is working with the Dutch government and other stakeholders to fulfill its obligations to residents of the area, which include compensation for damage caused by the earthquakes. read more

AMSTERDAM, July 12 (Reuters) – Dutch prosecutors said on Friday they were investigating whether producers at some of the country’s small gas fields had exceeded the amount they were licensed to produce.

Gas production limits have become a sensitive issue in the Netherlands as the country tries to reduce production at its large Groningen gas field that has caused damaging earthquakes.

Prosecution spokeswoman Marieke van der Moolen confirmed a report by regional broadcaster RTV Drente that investigations in several locations were ongoing and were taking place in collaboration with the country’s State Supervisor of Mines. read more

By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor: 22 MAY 2019

A 3.4 magnitude earthquake has hit the northern Dutch region of Groningen in the latest in a series of tremors blamed on decades of gas extraction.

The Dutch government says it will decide in the coming weeks whether the quake should lead to a change in plans to end production from the Groningen field by 2030.

The government has pledged to end production from the field by 2030 and to lower it as quickly as possible in coming years; output is set to fall to 19.4B cm in the year through October 2019, down from a peak of 54B cm in 2013. read more

GRAPHIC DOES NOT APPEAR IN REUTERS ARTICLE

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

AMSTERDAM, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Gas production at the Groningen field in the north of the Netherlands is falling faster than planned, the Dutch government said on Friday.

Output at the field will fall to 15.9 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the year ending October 2020, the government said, which is 1.5 bcm lower than originally planned.

The Dutch government last year said it would end production by 2030 and lower it as quickly as possible in coming years, as decades of extraction have led to a series of damaging earthquakes in the region. read more

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. read more

The Dutch High Court says it will consider demands on Jan. 17 seeking an immediate end to gas production from the Groningen field, after the government said it would cut output gradually.

The High Court says it received 26 objections to the plan, expressing concerns about seismic risks caused by drilling and demanding an urgent halt in production.

Analysts say the court is unlikely to grant an immediate halt because the Netherlands still depends on Groningen gas for a significant part of its energy supply. read more

Gas production at the earthquake-prone Groningen field will drop by at least 75% to below 5B cm/year in the next five years, the Dutch government says, as measures to reduce demand for Groningen gas are working ahead of schedule.

The government decided this year to shut down in 2030 what was once Europe’s largest natural gas field, citing several earthquakes over decades of extraction that damaged thousands of homes and buildings.

Production is set to drop to 19.4B cm in the year that began in October, already down 65% from its peak of 54B cm in 2013. read more

Mr Trump last year signed a law giving him the right to impose sanctions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. Royal Dutch Shell, BASF’s Wintershall unit, Uniper, OMV and Engie have agreed to provide Russia’s Gazprom with financing for the €9.5bn pipeline and could be at risk of penalties.

Elena Mazneva, Margaret Talev and Naureen S Malik: 18 July 2018

US President Donald Trump eased his tone about a Russian natural gas pipeline to Germany after a one-on-one meeting with President Vladimir Putin, shifting from the harsh criticism of Germany he’d levied in Europe last week.

“We are going to be selling LNG and will have to be competing with the pipeline and I think we’ll compete successfully, although there is a little advantage locationally” because Russia is closer to buyers in Europe, Mr Trump told reporters at a news conference with Mr Putin after their meeting in Helsinki on Monday. read more

By Vanand Meliksetian – Jul 03, 2018, 3:00 PM CDT

The Netherlands has been the source of cheap energy for northwest Europe for the past decades. The discovery of the Groningen gas field, the 9th largest in the world, provided a reliable source of energy in a period when the oil market was rocked by embargos due to the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The future of the Dutch gas sector, however, looks bleak due to two important developments in 2018: a political decision to reduce production with a timeline to stop entirely until 2030 and a new climate agreement. The Netherlands is preparing to make major changes regarding the role of gas in people’s lives. read more

Groningen needs reinforcement: watchdog

The repair and reinforcement of Dutch homes damaged by gas-extraction earthquakes in Groningen needed to be speeded up, the state supervisor on mines SoDM told economic minister Eric Wiebes.

RTL Nieuws reported that SoDM found approximately 1,900 homes in the region that, if not reinforced quickly, would no longer meet official safety standards. The distinctly Dutch rules state the risk of someone dying in an earthquake must not be higher than the risk of someone drowning in a flood elsewhere in the Netherlands. read more

Production at the Groningen natural gas field will come in lower than expected this year as the Dutch government works to end production completely by 2030 in an effort to limit seismic risks in the region.

Output will have fallen to 19B-20B cm in the year ending October 2018, the Dutch gas sector regulator says, below the original cap of 21.6B cm set for the year and down from 24B cm last year.

The Groningen field is a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM). read more

Shell, Exxon not to seek compensation for end of Groningen gas production: government

Reuters Staff: Monday June 25, 2018

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Energy companies Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil will not submit a claim for missed revenue due to the Dutch government’s decision to halt gas production at the Groningen field by 2030, the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs said on Monday.

“A lot of gas will be left in the ground,” Economy minister Eric Wiebes said at the presentation of his deal with the oil majors responsible for extracting Groningen gas.

“That gas is the property of the oil companies, but they will not submit a claim and the government is not required to compensate them.” read more

Jun. 8, 2018 10:39 AM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Reuters Staff: APRIL 26, 2018 / 4:02 PM

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday it would write down its reserves in the Groningen gas field, one of Europe’s largest, following the Dutch government’s decision to phase out production by 2030.

The Anglo-Dutch company holds a 50 percent stake in the field, which has seen production reduced in recent years following a series of damaging earthquakes. 

Shell said it expects to write off an estimated 0.5 to 0.65 billion barrels of oil equivalent in 2018. read more

By Janene Pieters on April 26, 2018 – 12:20

In its bookkeeping, Shell is reducing the value of its interest in NAM to zero in response to the Dutch government deciding to completely stop gas extraction in Groningen in the coming years, RTL Nieuws reports.

Dutch petroleum company NAM is responsible for gas extraction in Groningen. NAM is owned half by Shell and half by ExxonMobil. Depreciating its shares in NAM is costing Shell 244 million dollars, according to RTL.  

The Dutch government concluded that safety in Groningen can only be guaranteed if the cause of the gas extraction earthquakes in the province is completely removed. The government therefore plans to reduce gas extraction in the province to 12 billion cubic meters by 2022 at the latest. From October 2022 gas extraction will be reduced to 7.5 billion cubic meters “and possibly considerably less”. And after that it will gradually be reduced to zero. read more

Thursday 26 April 2018

Shell has written off its entire $244m investment in gas production company NAM in a move seen as a further attempt to distance itself from the troubled company.

NAM is a 50-50 joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobil and faces huge damages claims because of the earthquakes in Groningen province which have been caused by the extraction of natural gas.

The one-off charge was booked in first-quarter earnings published on Thursday, according to the Financieele Dagblad. read more

By Janene Pieters on Monday April 16, 2018

Shell “should have been more assertive” in its warnings about climate change, Ben van Beurden, CEO of the Dutch oil and gas giant said in a podcast by Studio Energie. Environmental group Milieudefensie recently filed a lawsuit against Shell for the role it played in the climate problems the world currently faces. 

In 1991 Shell released a film that outlined a disturbing picture of the problems climate change will cause in the future. “Perhaps we should have talked louder, maybe we should have made a bigger problem out if it? To be honest, I think, if we look back on that, we could and should have been more assertive”, Van Beurden said in the podcast, according to NOS. “Because now the problem is put on us, while ultimately it is of course a much broader social problem.”  read more

April 13, 2018

Economic affairs minister Eric Wiebes is embroiled in a dispute with Shell and ExxonMobil about the bill for closing the gas taps in Groningen, broadcaster NOS said on Friday.

The dispute revolves around a potential billion euro claim facing the Dutch state from the oil giants, NOS says. It bases its claim on documents obtained using freedom of information legislation.

If the plans goes ahead to close off the Groningen fields by 2030, some €50bn to €125bn worth of gas will remain underground. And documents from 2016 show the oil companies will make a claim against the Dutch state for lost income, the broadcaster said. read more

The firm also drew attention to a number of safety incidents in 2017 which it is working to address and provide support to victims for, including oil spills and theft in Nigeria, earthquakes in Groningen and a road tanker disaster in Pakistan.

Written by Allister Thomas – 09/04/2018 1:12 pm

The company has published the findings in a report to accommodate UK regulations requiring transparency on government payments.

It includes payments in 29 countries where Shell operates and does not include details related to refining, natural gas liquefaction, or gas-to-liquids activities which are not in the scope of UK regulations.

Shell made the largest contribution to Nigeria, paying over £3billion last year, while the smallest sum went to Bulgaria at £109million.

The funds for Nigeria include the government’s production entitlement, covering more than £2.1billion. read more

Mar. 29, 2018 10:57 AM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

The Dutch government says it will phase out gas production at the Groningen field by 2030 as part of efforts to reduce the danger caused by small but damaging earthquakes.

Production is set for 21.6B cm this year, already down from a peak of 53.8B cm in 2013, and is planned to fall to below 20B cm for the production year beginning October 2018 and to below 17.5B cm for the 2019 year, assuming average temperatures, then to 12B cm in the coming 4-5 years and to zero at the end of the 2020s. read more

Printed below is an English translation of information published today by Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV (NAM), a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil each owning a 50% share in the company responsible for the earthquake blighted Groningen Gas Field and consequential potential bill for untold billions in damages to effected residences.

BEGINS

Before 1 July 2018 an offer to handle 6,000 old claim notications

Any resident who reported damage reports after 31 March 2017 as a result of an earthquake, can contact the independent Temporary Committee for Mining Damage Groningen from 19 March 2018. At the request of the government, NAM handles the ‘old’ outstanding 6,000 damage reports, before 31 March 2017. read more

Reuters Staff: 19 FEB 2018

AMSTERDAM, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Dutch gas company NAM on Monday said it sees no need for further measures at the Groningen field after a recent series of relatively small earthquakes in the region.

The Dutch gas sector regulator last week ordered a new review of production at the field in the north of the Netherlands, after three tremors with magnitudes of 1.7 to 2.2 between Feb. 8 and Feb. 11. 

After a 3.4 earthquake in January the Dutch government already said it would cut Groningen production by 44 percent as quickly as possible, while ordering the immediate shutdown of five production points in the earthquake-prone field. read more

Anjli Raval, Oil & Gas Correspondent

This corner of the Netherlands has for decades been blighted by earthquakes triggered by extraction from the Groningen gasfield, discovered in 1959 and the largest in Europe. But their frequency and magnitude have been increasing, damaging houses and infrastructure and agitating communities who blame the government and two of the world’s biggest energy companies for billions of euros in damage.

FULL ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND ON FT WEBSITE

Communities like Fox Creek, Alberta, are feeling the economic benefits of the shale boom, along with fracking-linked earthquakes. 

Drilling has been so intense near Fox Creek, Alberta that it’s been linked to a series of earthquakes.Brennan Linsley/AP Photo

In the Western Alberta town of Fox Creek, roughnecks shuffle through hotel lobbies, freight trucks choke slushy streets and, every once in a while, tremors shake the earth.

Welcome to Canada’s biggest shale boom. Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Encana Corp., Murphy Oil Corp. and XTO Energy Inc. are among those flocking to Fox Creek to stake their claim in the oil-rich Duvernay shale formation. 

Here, the prize is condensate, an ultra-light oil that’s perfect for diluting the heavy tar-sands crude for which Alberta is known. More locally produced diluent would be a plus for Canadian companies that now depend on the U.S. — and for communities like Fox Creek that are feeling the economic benefits along with fracking-linked earthquakes. More of both may be in the offing as drillers flock in Chevron’s wake into the Duvernay region. read more

Damage claims over tremors linked to Dutch gasfields clouds strong earnings for 2017

Adam Vaughan: @adamvaughan_uk: Thu 1 Feb 2018

Shell more than doubled its profits last year thanks to rising oil prices, but has admitted it faces a multibillion-dollar bill for several years to compensate householders affected by earthquakes linked to its gasfield in the Netherlands. The Dutch government said this week that an independent commission will rule on thousands of claims from people affected by tremors caused by a gasfield run by NAM, a joint venture owned 50-50 by Shell and ExxonMobil. Van Beurden said: “We are talking about multibillion-dollar potential bill for years to come because these earthquake will continue to occur unfortunately. read more

Planned production cuts to the Europe’s largest gas field is to cost the Dutch state-run Enrgie Beheer Nederlands $5billion over the life of the field as well as cause the continent to look elsewhere for supply, according to analysts Wood Mackenzie. Groningen has been a major global asset for operators Shell, ExxonMobil and Energie Beheer Nederlands.

There have been a series of powerful earthquakes in recent years around the Groningen field brought on by gas mining, with a tremor last month registering 3.4 magnitude – the most powerful to hit since 2012.

Yesterday the Staatstoezicht op de Mijnen (SoDM) mining association recommending the Ministry of Economic Affairs imposes an output cap of 12 billion cubic metres (bcm)  annually over the next four years in the interests of safety.

The limit represents an annual cut of nearly half from the last cap of 21.6 bcm, and a drop of around 70% since the first cap was imposed in 2014. read more

By Janene Pieters on January 31, 2018 – 13:40

Dutch gas firm NAM will for the time being not pay profits to its two shareholders – Shell and ExxonMobil, Shell announced in a press release. NAM has 18 billion euros available to compensate for damaged caused by gas extraction related earthquakes in Groningen for the next five years, the Dutch gas firm also announced in a press release.

These two press releases were an attempt to calm unrest caused by the revelation that Shell withdrew its so-called 403 declaration from NAM last year, as Trouw reported on Saturday. This 403 declaration held Shell liable for NAM’s debts. The withdrawal of this declaration, which happened in June last year, raised concerns that Shell is trying to escape its liability for damages caused by fracking earthquakes in Groningen. read more

Reuters Staff: JANUARY 30, 2018 / 3:58 PM

* The Netherlands is most gas-reliant EU nation

* Groningen gas output already 60 pct below 2013 peak

* Government to cut production as much as possible

* Falling export obligations ease demand pressure

By Bart H. Meijer

AMSTERDAM, Jan 30 (Reuters) – The Netherlands can cut gas output from the Groningen field by roughly a fifth after this month’s tremors but it will need to fill some of the gap with increased imports to meet domestic needs and honour its export contracts, analysts say. read more

Written by Mark Lammey – 29/01/2018 7:53 am

Shell is performing “extremely well” at a time when Brent crude is at its highest price for three years, the oil giant’s upcoming fourth quarter results will show.

The Anglo-Dutch major is in its strongest position for many years in terms of its cash generation thanks to its upstream and LNG businesses, analysts said.

RBC Capital Markets anticipates Shell’s fourth-quarter adjusted net income will more than double year-on-year. The company recorded adjusted earnings of £1.3billion in Q4 2016.

Analysts said Shell, whose shares are up about 10% over the last 12 months, had been boosted by the sale of assets and disciplined spending.

The company implemented a £21billion-plus divestment plan following its £47billion mega-merger with BG Group, which was completed in 2016.

As part of that programme, Shell sold about £3billion worth of North Sea assets to Chrysaor in 2017.

RBC analysts said the company would have cashed in £1.1billion in the fourth quarter from the proceeds of UK North Sea sales alone. read more

There has been furious reaction after energy giant Shell distanced itself from possible claims for earthquake damages in Groningen province made against its subsidiary gas production company NAM.

MPs are calling for an emergency debate to discuss the issue, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Monday.

In addition, farmers in the earthquake-damaged province of Groningen are planning a demonstration Monday evening in Delfzijl, local paper Dagblad van het Noorden said. Farmers claim subsidence harms their crops and threatens their manure stores.

Moreover, many claim NAM does not have the money to settle the escalating claims which are certain to reach billions of euros.

The row was triggered on Saturday when Trouw said Shell was backing away from possible earthquake damages claims made again NAM, an assertion based on Shell Nederland’s annual report published in June 2017. read more

AMSTERDAM, Jan 24 (Reuters) – The Dutch gas regulator will publish its recommendation for production at the Groningen gas field on Feb. 1, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Regulator SodM was asked to provide advice on a new production cut after the northern Dutch region was hit by the strongest earthquake in years earlier this month.

Both the regulator and gas production company NAM, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil , have said that production needs to be cut substantially from the current level of 21.6 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year to limit seismic risks in the region. read more

Daniel Boffey in Brussels: Tue 23 Jan 2018

Extraction from the Groningen field, one of Europe’s richest sources of gas, is operated in a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil, but has been capped in recent years by ministers due to seismic activity in the area. Following a quake two weeks ago which registered at 3.4 on the Richter scale – the second-strongest recorded above the gas fields and the biggest in five years – the country’s minister for economic affairs, Eric Wiebes, put major corporations on notice this week. read more

The world may never have produced more natural gas, but that’s little comfort for the Dutch government as it seeks to replace flows from Europe’s biggest field.

Lawmakers in the Netherlands on Tuesday will discuss options to supply their pipeline network, which was built around the relatively poor-quality gas from the Groningen deposit. More than a half century of production there triggered earthquakes, forcing the scaling back of output.

Progressive Decline

Annual gas output from the Groningen gas field under new rules read more

TRANSLATED INFORMATION PUBLISHED 11 JAN 2018 IN DUTCH BY NAM

The Zeerijp quake

As a result of the recent earthquake at Zeerijp, NAM delivered a report to the State Supervision of Mines Supervisor (SSM) within 48 hours.
 
The report proposes measures for the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate to ultimately decide on in the context of safety, safety perception and other assessment frameworks. In addition to primary safety, the safety experience of the citizens of Groningen is central to this.

Gerald Schotman emphasized in various interviews to national and regional media that NAM is not concerned about the level of gas production. That is a decision that politics must take. read more

Dutch gas company NAM says it will propose reducing production at the Groningen gas field following an earthquake on Monday that was the largest in recent years.

NAM, a Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) joint venture that operates the Groningen field, says it will propose a shutdown of some production clusters, leading to a lower production volume overall.

The Dutch government has cut gas production several times in recent years from 39.4B cm in 2015-16, as decades of gas extraction have led to dozens of earthquakes every year in the Groningen region; the new government already agreed to cut output to ~20B cm by 2021 from a current 21.6B cm. read more

Printed below is an English translation of an article published by the Dutch equivalent of the Financial Times, Financieele Dagblad under the headline “Shell is fully committed to oil and gas from shale“.

By Bert van Dijk • Energy Editor

Shale gas and shale oil may then have a negative sound in Europe and hardly play a role, governments in the US, Canada, China and Argentina do see a lot of it. Shell hopes to benefit from this favorable investment climate in the coming years, especially now that the company has drastically reduced the costs of extracting shale gas and oil in recent years. read more

AMSTERDAM, Jan 8 (Reuters) – The Dutch minister for the economy said on Monday that output at the large Groningen gas field should be reduced “by as much as possible” during the current government term through 2021.

Eric Wiebes made the comment following a magnitude 3.4 tremor earlier on Monday that was the largest in recent years.

Dozens of earthquakes every year, resulting from decades of gas extraction, have caused damage to thousands of buildings and homes and prompted a dramatic shift in government policy now aimed at capping output. read more

Wednesday’s decision was met with jubilation from Groningen citizens, many of whom have seen their houses damaged by the thousands of small earthquakes triggered by the gas extraction.

By Bart H. Meijer: NOVEMBER 15, 2017

THE HAGUE, Nov 15 (Reuters) – The highest Dutch administrative court has rejected the government’s plan to cap production at a major gas field that has caused damaging earthquakes, saying it might be possible to cut output further without endangering supplies.

The decision adds another chapter to the long fight over gas production in the northern Dutch province of Groningen, where citizens accuse the government of endangering their lives while protecting gas revenues. read more

SOURCE

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