Groningen wants to scrap possible increase in gas extraction in Groningen
Local authorities in Groningen are calling on State Secretary Vijlbrief to scuttle plans for a potential increase in gas extraction in Groningen. They make this appeal in a joint letter to the State Secretary in response to his letter to Parliament dated May 19. The potential increase proposed by Gasunie Transport Services is difficult to explain to residents and is once again causing considerable unrest in the region.
Gasunie Transport Services (GTS) announced last week that the nitrogen plant in Zuidbroek is facing further delays and has therefore advised the State Secretary to extract additional gas from Groningen this gas year. In response, the State Secretary stated in his letter to Parliament that he finds this new delay difficult to accept and has decided not to extract any additional gas from Groningen for the time being.
Appeal to the State Secretary
The region maintains that the safety of residents must always come first. It acknowledges the State Secretary’s efforts and is confident that he will be able to remove the increase from the table during discussions with GTS and that the Groningen field will still be permanently closed by the end of 2023. The region also believes that problems between contractors and subcontractors should not be the reason for extracting additional Groningen gas. As the client, GTS must resolve this. Furthermore, GTS provides no certainty regarding the new completion date for the nitrogen plant. The region advises the State Secretary to develop scenarios in discussions with GTS to ensure that no more Groningen gas is extracted. The region also points out to the State Secretary that the timing of the announcement of the delay does not contribute to restoring trust. This announcement came one day after the expiration of the objection period against the April decision in which the State Secretary announced an increase in extraction from 3.9 to 4.5 billion cubic meters.
Relevant government agencies
The letter to State Secretary Vijlbrief was drafted on behalf of the executive committees of the councils , Midden-Groningen, Het Hogeland, Groningen, Eemsdelta, Pekela, Veendam, Westerkwartier, Westerwolde, and Stadskanaal, as well as the province of Groningen, and the boards of the Groningen Safety Region and the Noorderzijlvest and Hunze een Aa's water boards.