Senate approves permanent closure of Groningen gas field

The Groningen gas field is permanently closing. Earlier this month, the Senate wanted to postpone the consideration of the law that regulates the closure due to concerns about the security of gas supply. But on Tuesday, a majority in the Eerste Kamer approved the law, NOS reports.

The threatened delay in permanently closing the Groningen gas field, which made the Dutch treasury a lot of money and also left locals dealing with earthquakes for decades, led to dismay and disbelief among Groningen residents and a furious State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (Mining). He threatened to resign if the Senate delayed the closure of the gas field any longer.

But now the decision has been made. The law will be officially signed this week and then published in the Government Gazette. The closure will be official on May 1.

A “historic moment,” a visibly emotional Peter Rozema of the Groninger Gasberaad told NOS. He attended the debate. “A lot still needs to be done for a lot of people, but this is hopeful. A lot of people have been kept up by this, and now the time has finally come.

Groningen deputy Susan Top has also attended the debate. “It is almost impossible to believe that it is real after all these years. It still has to sink in,” she told the broadcaster. “It took too long, but the time has finally come. Now that this step has been taken, we can really work on restoring trust.”

The Senators’ concerns about the security of supply have not disappeared, but a majority did not want to damage the trust of Groningen residents any further.

JA21, 50Plus, and FvD voted against the law, finding permanent closure too risky. JA21 Senator Ruben Baumgarten thinks emotion trumped logic in this decision. “I stand here for the national interest,” he said, adding that the Netherlands will one day regret disabling the gas well.

Vijlbrief received many questions about the security of future supply. Without gas from Groningen, the Netherlands is approximately 75 percent dependent on Norwegian gas via pipeline and liquified natural gas (LNG) supplied via ships from the United States, Great Britain, Russia, and Qatar, among others. Several parties raised concerns about the availability and affordability of gas due to wars and cold winters. The Eerste Kamer, therefore, asked Vijlbrief to commit to more permits for the LNG terminal in Eemshaven