Researchers think that there may be no gas production by 2030 at the North Sea

Research institute TNO reported that Dutch gas production on the North Sea dropped more than expected last year and decreased in 2022. If this trend continues, the researchers expect gas production in 2030 to be "minimal. "

Around 8.8 billion cubic meters of gas were extracted from the seabed last year, 10 percent less than expected. According to TNO, this is primarily because companies are extracting less gas from their fields in the North Sea and are less willing to invest in new gas fields. Producers also did less drilling at the North Sea to see whether certain spots had gas. Plans for this are limited over the next few years, said TNO.

The researchers have calculated the expected gas production for the next few years based on three scenarios. In the most pessimistic version, in which gas production hardly increases, this will amount to two billion cubic meters in 2030, said researcher Rory Dalman. Around 2040, this will drop to zero cubic meters.

According to the middle scenario, in which investments increase slightly for a short while, the gas production in 2030 will be around 3.7 billion cubic meters, said the researcher, which is over half less than in 2023.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Cabinet wanted to accelerate the granting of permits for gas extraction in the North Sea as much as possible. This was meant to ensure that the Netherlands would be less dependent on gas from Russia. But almost two years later, the acceleration is not visible, the TNO added.

In addition, the societal backlash against gas extraction on land and sea is also causing fewer new projects, according to the researchers. Greenpeace climate demonstrators tried to stop the construction of a new drilling platform last summer at sea by Schiermonnikoog.

TNO reported that total gas production dropped by a third last year. This is mainly because the gas field in Groningen closed in April.