Oil company NAM to wait for court verdict before starting gas extraction in Groningen

De Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) is not going to start gas extraction in Warffum until the court has given its verdict. The oil and gas company had been permitted to extract gas from a field in the village of Groningen for eight more years. Gas extraction could have been restarted this Saturday, but this will not happen due to an appeal lodged by the province of Groningen and the municipality of Het Hogeland.

Climate minister Sophie Hermans decided that gas extraction could continue at the location in March. The province and municipality appealed the decision and requested an interim injunction to prevent gas extraction from starting.

"The effect of the Consent Decree for Warffum has been automatically suspended due to a request for an interim injunction that has been filed with the court," a spokesperson for NAM explained. "The suspension will remain in effect until the court has made a ruling. NAM will therefore not start working in the field until then." The case will be heard next week.

Opponents of the company’s plans to extract gas lit flares in the village on Friday to bring attention to a petition. The group is opposing the gas extraction plans in Warffum, but also in Grijpskerk and Pieterzijl.

The step was initiated by Respect voor Groningen, which includes the movement of earth or ground in Groningen, SP parliament member Sandra Beckerman, and the entrepreneur Chris Garrit. “The government is creating new problems while the old misery with broken and unsafe houses is far from solved," the activists said. Dozens of concerned residents attended the launch of the petition.