Dutch State, oil companies focused on money, not Groningen residents in gas extraction

The oil companies and Dutch State structurally and systematically ignored the interests of the residents of Gronignen’s earthquake area. For decades, they focused only on the yield of gas extracted from Groningen. The parliamentary committee of inquiry that investigated natural gas extraction in Groningen made this conclusion in their report.

The long-awaited inquiry report said that the Netherlands has a debt of honor to Groningen residents. The country benefited for years from the gas field under the province, but only the people of Groningen face the burden and costs.

A long series of misses and wrong priorities led to “disastrous” suffering in the region, the committee said. In 1993 already, an advisory committee for research on earthquakes already linked gas extraction to the quakes in the province. “If the earthquake problem had been taken seriously from the start, a lot of misery could have been prevented,” the committee said, speaking of “negligence towards the people of Groningen.”

The Netherlands must give the region a long-term perspective and improve the living and business climate, the committee advised in the nearly 2,000-page report titled “Groningers above Gas.”

The gas extraction was so “successful and lucrative” for the government and oil companies Shell and ExxonMobil that there was “hardly any consideration” for the adverse effects and risks for the people of Groningen. The government and oil companies created a “smoke screen” by continually stressing the importance of the security of gas supply and never mentioning the massive financial interests.

Those financial interests were explicitly decisive for many years, while safety consistently took the back seat. Only after a ruling by the highest court in 2017 did the responsible parties apply “some form of the precautionary principle.”

The record year of gas extraction in 2013, “so soon after the severe earthquake in Huizinge in 2012,” shows that safety was never a priority. The government and oil companies never intervened “when they believed it was not strictly necessary.” Former Minister Henk Kamp’s policy that led to the record extraction was experienced as extremely painful in Groningen. But the parties involved, including the State and oil companies, were “extremely satisfied with the course that was taken in 2013.”

Groningen residents were left in insecurity for “unacceptably long.” It was only in 2018 that the government decided to completely phase out gas extraction in the province. And that decision was also at least partly motivated by financial motives, the committee said. The government made this decision “partly on the assumption that the costly reinforcement operation can thus be kept much smaller.”

The committee acknowledged that the government has tried to solve Groningen residents’ problems in recent years. But these attempts have hardly led to improvements, while many locals’ lives are “on hold.”

NAM’s shareholders Shell and ExxonMobil always try to keep compensation to Groningen residents limited. At the same time, they are “structurally prepared to invest money in refuting claims, even if the claim is lower than the costs that must be incurred to rebut it.”

The “faltering reinforcement approach” is disastrous for Groningen residents, leading not only to “suffering and uncertainty” but also to distrust of the government.

Prime Minister, parliament's roles

The committee spoke about Prime Minister Mark Rutte specifically. Since he first took office as Prime Minister in 2012, Rutte “did not make any difference” for the people in Groningen. He’s apologized several times for the course of events surrounding gas extraction in the province. “But eleven these apologies have not led to an essential change that has benefited Groningen residents.” According to the committee, the Prime Minister “raises expectations” and then fails to live up to them.

The committee also criticized the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. In 60 years of gas extraction, the Kamer meant relatively little to the people of Groningen. The committee did note, however, that the Kamer often had to make do with “insufficient, incorrect, and careless” information.”

Debt of honor

“Above all,” it is the Cabinet’s moral obligation to fulfill its own promise to close the Groningen gas field completely by 2024 at the latest. The committee also wants NAM to drop its claim on the gas remaining in the Groningen soil. An arbitration case is currently pending on that point.

The government must push more money into the region, especially for future prospects. The living and business climate must improve, and there must be more political and social attention to the region.

Damage claims must be handled “more mildly, easily, and humane.” The Institute for Mining Damage Groningen must be given more legal options, set priorities, and deal with damage claims more leniently.