Sixty years of gas extraction from the Groningen field has yielded hundreds of billions of euros for the Netherlands, but there are also clear drawbacks. The parliamentary committee of inquiry that investigated these events is presenting its final report today.
Anyone who followed the public hearings last year can predict that the verdict of the committee led by Member of Parliament Tom van der Lee will not be tender. This has been clear to Groningen residents for a long time.
“Do we still belong to the Netherlands?” Victims faced Eric Wiebes with that question when he was still Minister of Economic Affairs. Residents of the earthquake area have felt disadvantaged compared to the rest of the Netherlands for years. Mental health counselor Melissa Dales described it as feeling like a “second class citizen”.
Wiebes and Dales are two of the dozens of witnesses who were heard by the committee of inquiry last year. From scientists to the highest bosses of the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) and from Prime Minister Mark Rutte to victims who had to fight for years to get justice: they all passed by. The chair opposite the committee members was occupied for seven weeks.
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Six decades of gas extraction has been scrutinized, highlighting two key moments. First of all, the earthquake near Huizinge in the summer of 2012. This earthquake put the safety situation of the inhabitants of the earthquake area in the spotlight. The second important moment occurs six years later when Wiebes takes the historic decision to turn off the gas tap.
One thing has already become clear from the public interrogations. The natural gas revenues were so important that until 2012 no real thought was given to dangerous side effects at all. The realization that many houses were unsafe only really dawned years after the earthquake in Huizinge.
Chamber: ‘The Netherlands has a debt of honor to Groningen’
428 billion euros have been earned with gas extraction from the Groningen field. For oil companies Shell and ExxonMobil, the proceeds were almost 65 billion euros. The lion’s share, more than 363 billion euros, went to the state treasury. The money ended up in the budgets of various ministries.
The period of 1995 and 2010 is an exception to this. In those fifteen years, 26 billion euros have been kept aside and in one special fund stopped for economic development. Much of that money has been spent on building new railway lines, such as the Betuwe line. Only 1 percent of the money is invested in the three northern provinces, according to a 2006 study by the Institute for Research on Public Expenditure.
The House of Representatives therefore believes that the Netherlands has a “debt of honor to Groningen”. The coalition wants the government to draw up an investment plan for the future. A nice gesture, but it is not yet an issue for the inhabitants of the earthquake area. They want a safe home first and foremost.
‘No Hague hassle’
Many people have been waiting for that for years and will have to wait for years to come. The reinforcement operation will certainly last until 2028. It is expected that about twelve thousand addresses will have to be renovated. In practice, this means demolition and new construction for many people. The gigantic operation has led to a lot of inequality in villages in recent years.
The committee of inquiry will not only pass judgment today, but also make recommendations for the future. “I hope that the survey report, apart from describing the truth, also contains elements that enable us to do even more for the people of Groningen,” State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (Mining) said to the House a while ago.
“The reinforcement operation is really a problem child that you have to be patient with. All you have to do is go on, go on, go on and turn button, button, button”, is how Vijlbrief describes his approach.
The Secretary of State is quite popular in Groningen. It means that Jan Wigboldus is not waiting for “The Hague hassle”. He is chairman of the Groninger Gasberaad, a partnership of various interest groups. It won’t help people if Vijlbrief resigns. Then everything will only be delayed more, he explains.
According to him, the most important thing is that steps are taken and reinforcement is accelerated. “I would not like the attention for Groningen to be gone after Friday.”
