An earthquake occurred near the Groningen village of Zeerijp around 2.15 pm. The quake had a magnitude of 2.1 at a depth of three kilometers.
KNMI confirms the new earthquake at RTV North at the place, located in the gas extraction area in Groningen. It is still unclear if there is any damage.
Zeerijp was also hit by a number of earthquakes last autumn. It was then about six quakes in a month. According to the supervisor of the State Supervision of Mines (SodM), these earthquakes were not caused by the current gas extraction. That would simply be too low to have a major impact, according to the SodM.
High pressure in gas field
The regulator attributes the quakes to the years of gas extraction that took place earlier and the large pressure differences that resulted.
For example, the pressure in the gas field is currently highest around Loppersum, where no gas has been extracted for some time. In the south of the gas field, gas is still being extracted and the pressure is lower. “This pressure is now equalizing”, SodM said in October 2021 at RTV North.
“The natural gas flows from places with a high pressure to places with a low pressure. This process also causes stresses on fractures in the deep subsurface, which can lead to quakes. This explains why there are relatively many quakes in the Loppersum area.”
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