The Dutch Senate has postponed a vote on a law to permanently close the Groningen gas field. This has angered the government, which believed that production would never resume due to the risk of earthquakes, writes Reuters.
The European gas price TTF fell 3.4 percent on Wednesday afternoon.
Threatens to retire
Several voices in the senate have expressed concern and are calling for more guarantees that the law will not threaten the security of the country’s gas supply. Without the law, gas production could theoretically be resumed.
– This could delay the final decision by a year and a half, said an angry Hans Vijlbrief, State Secretary in the Dutch Ministry of Mines about the postponement.
Vijlbrief further expressed that he was prepared to resign unless the Senate quickly changed course.
– Security of supply would only possibly be at risk in the event of two very cold winters in a row, a chance estimated at 1 in 80,000, Vijlbrief said, adding:
– I trust that it is a misunderstanding and that we will soon see a final decision from the senate.
Given huge values
Among those who want to postpone the vote are the nationalist Party for Freedom (PPV), which won the election in November 2023, and the VVD party of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Since 1963, the Groningen field has been an important gas source for large parts of Europe. The decision to close the field came after production in recent years has been reduced to a minimum, due to earthquakes linked to the business. However, the field has been available for limited production due to a cold period in recent months.
The gas from the field has yielded great value. Since opening, the field has added an estimated €363 billion to the Dutch treasury, while Shell and Exxon, which operate through jointly owned NAM, have profited from Groningen of around €66 billion over the same period.
Tags: Energy security trumps earthquake fears postponing closure Europes largest gas field
