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Shell: Gas field in Groningen must be completely closed this year, in light of earthquakes

NL TIMES

Shell: Gas field in Groningen must be completely closed this year, in light of earthquakes

SUNDAY, 26 MARCH 2023 

The gas field in Groningen must be completely closed this year, said the CEO of Shell Netherlands, Marjan van Loon. Currently, the gas field is still supplying minimal amounts of gas to keep the wells usable, but she doesn’t think that’s necessary. “It can and must be done, so the field has to be closed,” Van Loon said on the TV program WNL Op Zondag. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Damning report slams state, oil companies for Groningen gas failures

DutchNews.nl

Damning report slams state, oil companies for Groningen gas failures

February 24, 2023 – By Robin Pascoe

The interests of the people of Groningen were systematically ignored by both the government and oil companies, and making money remained the dominant concern when natural gas extraction started causing earthquakes, according to the parliamentary commission set up to investigate.

The worlds of those making the decisions and the locals were ‘miles apart’, commission chief Tom van der Lee said at the presentation of the report into the problems, which has taken two years and hundreds of interviews to complete.

Gas extraction has become an ‘unprecedented system failure’ and both the public and private sector have failed in their duties, Van der Lee said.

Ministers were not properly informed and that meant that MPs could not fulfill their role as guardians of the public interest. The damage, both material and mental, suffered by locals was consistently underestimated and the maximalisation of profit was the guiding force. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Dutch gov’t, Shell and Exxon ignored Groningen risks for years, inquiry finds

“Gas extraction in Groningen was so successful and lucrative for the Dutch government, Shell and Exxon Mobil that they hardly took any notion of the long-term risks and the ever-clearer signs of the detrimental effects for the people in Groningen…” 

REUTERS

Dutch gov’t, Shell and Exxon ignored Groningen risks for years, inquiry finds

AMSTERDAM, Feb 24 (Reuters) – The Dutch government and energy companies Shell (SHEL.L) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) ignored the risks of gas production in Groningen for years, to the detriment of people living in the province, a parliamentary inquiry concluded on Friday.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and others involved “gravely underestimated” the urgency of the problems in Groningen, said the committee set up to investigate the decades of lucrative gas extraction that caused tremors damaging thousands of houses and buildings in the region.

The massive Groningen field is operated by Shell and Exxon joint venture NAM and was one of Europe’s major suppliers of natural gas for decades.

“These are hard and painful conclusions,” Rutte told a news conference. “They make clear there is a lot to do to help the region and to hopefully restore trust.”

The government will take time provide a full response to the report, he said without indicating how long that would take.

A statement from NAM director Johan Atema said: “It is clear that we need to have a better eye for the society in which we work. It is up to us to show that we as a company have learned from this.” read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Netherlands To Shut Down Europe’s Largest Gas Field

OILPRICE.COM

Netherlands To Shut Down Europe’s Largest Gas Field

The Dutch government plans to close the Groningen gas field this year despite Europe’s precarious supply position. Groningen is the largest gas field in Europe.

The field is dangerous, a government official from the Hague told the Financial Times, and the government has no plans to boost production from it.

“We won’t open up more because of the safety issues,” Hans Vijbrief told the FT. “It is politically totally unviable. But apart from that, I’m not going to do it because it means that you increase the chances of earthquakes, which I don’t want to be responsible for.” read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Another departing Shell leader seeking redemption?

Another departing Shell leader seeking redemption?

By John Donovan

Departing Shell Plc CEO Ben van Beurden seems to be seeking redemption in his closing period with the energy giant.

THE GRONINGEN SCANDAL

BvB now admits that Shell should have pulled out of the controversial earthquake-blighted Groningen project operated by NAM – a Shell-Exxon joint venture company.

According to Reuters: “A damning report in 2015 from the independent Dutch Safety Board had accused the government and the field’s operators of ignoring the threat of earthquakes linked to the field for years.” 

As regular visitors to this website know, we have been drawing attention to the Groningen scandal for many years. Thousands of properties have been damaged. As a consequence, Dutch prosecutors are pursuing litigation against NAM. Tens of thousands of Groningen residents are eligible for compensation for earthquake damage. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Dutch prosecutors to pursue pollution case against Shell-Exxon gas venture

Dutch prosecutors to pursue pollution case against Shell-Exxon gas venture

By Syndicated Content Oct 12, 2022 | 7:53 AM

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Dutch prosecutors said on Wednesday they will pursue a pollution case against NAM, a joint venture of Shell and ExxonMobil that operates gas fields in the Netherlands.

The prosecutors “(suspect) NAM of injecting waste streams from natural gas extraction into the deep subsurface without a permit”, a statement from their office said.

Prosecutors say they believe the company took waste products from natural gas extraction in the North Sea, then processed and injected them into empty gas fields in the province of Groningen.

A spokesperson for NAM said the company would respond later on Wednesday.

Reuters reported last month that Shell And ExxonMobil have put their 50-50 venture up for sale, with expected proceeds of over $1 billion.

NAM started producing natural gas in 1963 following the discovery of the giant Groningen field, which was a major source of gas for the Netherlands and Europe for decades.

But extraction has been almost completely wound down in the past 10 years as tremors blamed on drilling damaged buildings and prompted protests by residents and campaigners. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Shell should have quit Groningen gas project in Netherlands earlier -CEO

REUTERS

Shell should have quit Groningen gas project in Netherlands earlier -CEO

AMSTERDAM, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Shell CEO Ben van Beurden told a Dutch parliamentary panel investigating problems relating to natural gas production at the large Groningen gas field in the Netherlands that the company should have pulled out of the project earlier.

Production at Groningen was scaled back sharply over a period of years in the 2010s after the Dutch government and producer NAM, a Shell-Exxon joint venture, realized the earthquakes it caused posed too great a threat to life and property.

“We had to continually ask what makes sense,” as production was dialled back to levels at which NAM made little to no profit, Van Beurden told lawmakers.

“What made sense for Shell was to quit. In any other country we would have stopped this operation. But in the Netherlands that was impossible because the Netherlands was dependent on Groningen gas.”

A damning report in 2015 from the independent Dutch Safety Board had accused the government and the field’s operators of ignoring the threat of earthquakes linked to the field for years. As vast amounts of gas were removed from under the province since 1963, the ground sank and settled above empty pockets, triggering quakes. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Dutch state earned €363.7 billion through Groningen gas extraction

NL TIMES

Dutch state earned €363.7 billion through Groningen gas extraction

TUESDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2022 – 08:44

After almost 60 years of gas extraction in Groningen, the involved parties finally announced how much money they made from it. Adjusted for inflation, the Groningen gas field yielded a total profit of 428 billion euros, of which the Dutch state received 363.7 billion euros, Het Financieele Dagblad reports based on calculations from shareholder Shell.

The remaining 64.7 billion euros in profit went to the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), the operator of the Groningen gas field. NAM paid the amount out as dividends to its shareholders – Shell and ExxonMobil.

Shell released the figures for the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into gas extraction in Groningen. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate confirmed the profit division to FD.

The figures show that the government received 85 percent of the profit from the Groningen field – quite a bit higher than the about 70% income paid for other concessions. Aad Correlje, associate professor and energy expert at the Delft University of Technology, called that remarkable. “We knew that the government took a large part of the profit, but not that the difference with the gas companies’ profit was that big,” he said to the newspaper. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Tens of thousands to get compensation for Groningen earthquakes

NL TIMES

Tens of thousands to get compensation for Groningen earthquakes

TUESDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2022

Tens of thousands of Groningen residents are still eligible for compensation for earthquake damage. This is reported by the Groningen Institute for Mining Damage (IMG), which will offer a one-time fixed payment of 5,000 euros as compensation to people who, in the past, received little or no restitution. In total, the institute estimates that it will cost an additional 100 million euros more than the hundreds of millions already spent on compensation for physical damage. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Groningen gas: former mining director says gas firms taken more seriously than supervisor

DutchNews.nl

Groningen gas: former mining director says gas firms taken more seriously than supervisor

Sept 1, 2022

The economic affairs minister took gas companies more seriously than government safety supervisors, according to evidence at the six-week enquiry into what has gone wrong in Groningen.

This week the enquiry restarted into how decades of gas extraction caused ever more earthquakes and damage for local people, and why compensation schemes have failed so badly. It will run until October 14. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Fears of new quakes in Dutch gas field as energy crisis bites

The Guardian

Fears of new quakes in Dutch gas field as energy crisis bites

Arthur Neslen: Mon 22 Aug 2022 10.00 BST

The province of Groningen is home to a vast gas field and the subject of a parliamentary inquiry into the links between gas extraction and the hundreds of earthquakes and tremors that have traumatised residents.

Groningen’s inhabitants have been affected by the giant gas field for the last few decades. About 80% of houses in villages such as Overschild are being demolished and rebuilt because of earthquake damage. More than 150,000 Groningen residents have suffered earthquake damage to their properties in the last decade, and 10,000 now face stress-related health problems. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Dutch govt to pay Shell, Exxon $8.28 billion for filling Norg gas storage

Reuters

Dutch govt to pay Shell, Exxon $8.28 billion for filling Norg gas storage

AMSTERDAM, April 1 (Reuters) – The Dutch government on Friday said it expected to compensate NAM, a joint venture between Shell RDSa.L and Exxon XOM.N, around 7.5 billion euros ($8.3 billion) for filling the Norg gas facility the past three years, with most of the costs coming this year due to the current high price of gas.

In a statement, the Economic Affairs Ministry cited “the current historic high gas prices” and the exact amount would be determined at the end of the gas year, which runs through to Sept. 30. In all NAM will have purchased 8.8 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas on the open market to fill the facility over the past three years. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Dutch watchdog says gas production at Groningen remains unsafe

Reuters

Dutch watchdog says gas production at Groningen remains unsafe

AMSTERDAM, March 8 (Reuters) – A Dutch watchdog said on Tuesday that gas production from Groningen field remained a safety threat, as Europe races to find other sources of the fuel to wean itself off Russian supplies in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Dutch government has been winding down Groningen for years because production triggers earthquakes in the area and it plans to cease output entirely by October. But the government has not ruled out a change course in an emergency. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Despite earthquakes, Groningen residents open to gas mining to thwart Putin

NL TIMES

Despite earthquakes, Groningen residents open to gas mining to thwart Putin

A majority of Groningen residents expressed willingness to open the gas tap further in order to lessen dependence on Russian gas, Dagblad van het Noorden reports from results of a survey by Enigma Research among residents of the province this week. People who live in areas that experience earthquakes from gas extraction are even more willing than those who live outside the earthquake zone.

No less than 83 percent of those polled thought the Netherlands should stop importing Russian gas. More than six in 10 Groningen residents support further gas mining in their province, up to a maximum of 12 billion cubic meters per year.

The State Supervision of Mines (SodM) has always said that gas extraction can be relatively safe up to that maximum if all houses in Groningen are reinforced. However, SodM announced in February that it wanted to halt gas extraction in Groningen.

“From my perspective on the safety of the people in Groningen, raising gas production now is really a bad idea,” said Theodor Kockelkoren, inspector-general with the State Supervision of Mines (SodM), at the time. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Shell wants to buy off liability from NAM in Groningen

NETHERLAND NEWS LIVE

Shell wants to buy off liability from NAM in Groningen

jenniferruffalo

Shell wants to buy off liability for the earthquakes in Groningen in one go. That is what president-director Marjan van Loon of Shell Netherlands says in an interview with the Financieele Dagblad (FD). Shell is a half shareholder of the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), the company that carries out the drilling in Groningen. The other half is owned by ExxonMobil.

By buying off the liability, the settlement of damage caused by the earthquakes can be accelerated, according to Van Loon. The parties have been disagreeing for years about who will pay for the damage, which means that the settlement process is slow. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

State mining supervisor wants to halt gas extraction in Groningen

NL TIMES

State mining supervisor wants to halt gas extraction in Groningen

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2022 – 07:00

It is “really very undesirable” to extract more natural gas in Groningen, said Theodor Kockelkoren, inspector-general with the State Supervision of Mines…

Gas extraction in Groningen has been causing earthquakes for years, damaging houses. Kockelkoren said in the broadcast that two things are necessary to improve safety in the area: “Reduce gas production to zero as quickly as possible, and strengthen the houses that need it. From my perspective on the safety of the people in Groningen, raising gas production now is really a bad idea.” read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.