More North Sea gas drilling needed, says Econ. Min.

Minister Henk Kamp of Economic Affairs wants to team up with gas companies to investigate how the enormous gas reserves in the North Sea can best be utilized. According to him, this gas can be used in "the transition to a sustainable energy supply". The Minister said this in an interview with the AD, which was published on Wednesday. In about 8 years time the wind farms on the North Sea will be capable of providing more than 5 million households with electricity. It is expected that the Netherlands will no longer need fossil fuels around 2050. But until that time, it gas extraction remains important, according to Kamp. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and TNO, there may be up to 165 billion cubic meters of recoverable gas in undiscovered fields in the North Sea. There is also still a potential 118 billion cubic meters of gas in the already discovered fields. Last year the Netherlands consumed 38 billion cubic meters of gas. "In the gradual transition to a fully sustainable energy supply, fossil fuels like gas still are of undiminished importance for society in the coming years." Kamp said to the newspaper. "The still recoverable North Sea gas can help reduce dependence on imports."