Key Groningen Court Ruling Due Midweek
A key court ruling relating to the future level of production from Europe’s giant Groningen gas field will be made next week in The Hague.
The Dutch Council of State’s administrative jurisdiction division November 15 will issue its final judgement on decisions of the economy ministry relating to NAM’s production at Groningen.
In May 2017, then economy minister Henk Kamp said his ministry would shave a further 10% off the annual cap of 24bn m³/yr that it had previously set from October 2016 until September 2021. He did so following advice from the country’s mining inspectorate that a lower cap was needed to reduce risk of damaging earth tremors. Groningen operator NAM, which is owned by Shell and ExxonMobil, said June 28 they would challenge that reduction by 10% of the cap to 21.6bn m³/yr – effectively just 40% of the field's 54bn m3 output in 2013 – which the ministry now wants to be applied until September 2021.
The Council of State however has far-ranging powers, so can either cancel or maintain Kamp’s 10% cut, or impose a steeper cut, or in theory even halt Groningen production as many local residents want.
Last month Eric Wiebes became minister of economic affairs and climate in the new Netherlands coalition government, effectively replacing Kamp who has retired from government. The ministerial decision to reduce the annual cap by 10% however still stands. The giant Groningen field is operated by NAM which has a 60% equity interest while Dutch state petroleum holding EBN holds the other 40% interest.
Separately a court hearing in Leeuwarden, in the northern Netherlands, heard an appeal by NAM on whether a September 2 ruling in the nearby town of Assen, relating to certain compensation payments to residents with property damaged by gas production-induced earthquakes, should be struck down. A lawyer representing residents group, Stichting WAG, said the Leeuwarden appeal court will give its verdict on January 23 2018.
The lawyer also told NGW that NAM has sought an appeal too in a case where certain residents have filed for compensation arising from psychological distress caused by the earthquakes and related damage. “We are waiting for the papers of the NAM in this appeal,” he said.
Mark Smedley