Groningen wants to scrap possible increase in gas extraction in Groningen
The Groningen authorities are calling on State Secretary Vijlbrief to scrap the possible increase in gas extraction in Groningen. They have written this in a joint letter to the State Secretary in response to his letter to parliament dated May 19. The possible increase proposed by Gasunie Transport Services cannot be explained to residents and is 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.
Call to the Secretary of State
The region remains of the opinion that the safety of residents must always come first. It recognizes the efforts of the State Secretary and trusts that he will be able to get the increase off the table in the discussions with GTS and that the Groningen field will still be permanently closed at the end of 2023. The region also believes that problems between contractors and subcontractors should not be a reason to extract additional Groningen gas. This is something that GTS, as the client, must resolve. In addition, GTS is not providing any certainty about the new completion date for the nitrogen plant. The region advises the State Secretary to develop scenarios in discussions with GTS so 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 confidence. It came one day after the expiry 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.
Governments involved
The letter to State Secretary Vijlbrief was drafted on behalf of the municipal councils of Oldambt, Midden-Groningen, Het Hogeland, Groningen, Eemsdelta, Pekela, Veendam, Westerkwartier, Westerwolde, Stadskanaal, and the province of Groningen, as well as the boards of the Groningen Safety Region and the Noorderzijlvest and Hunze en Aa's water boards.