The Groningenveld can only be closed if a number of conditions are met. For example, sufficient gas must be available from abroad. This high-calorific gas must be converted into low-calorific gas. Only that gas is suitable for our heating installations and hobs.
A nitrogen plant in Zuidbroek in Groningen is under construction for this conversion of gas. The installation should have been up and running on April 1, but construction was delayed. A week ago, Gasunie announced that the factory could still be put into operation on 1 October.
In addition, it seems that the reserve function of the Groningen field can be accommodated. In this way, sufficient gas will continue to flow in an emergency.
“So it looks good,” State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (Mining) said to the House. The cabinet will make a final decision on the closure later this month. We are still waiting for the advice of the Mining Council.
If the field closes this year, that means the extraction will go to zero. Subsequently, the demolition of all installations will not begin until the autumn of 2024, explains Vijlbrief. The cabinet and the House of Representatives then have one year to lay down the closure in law.
More than five years ago, the then Minister of Economic Affairs Eric Wiebes announced that the gas tap would be closed. Since then, gas extraction has been phased out.
At the moment, five of the eleven production locations are still on the pilot light. In the period from October 2022 to October 2023, they will jointly produce 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas.
The other six were already taken off the pilot light in April. If these locations do have to reopen, it will take about a month to start up.
Since taking office, Vijlbrief has promised to close the field by October 2023 or a year later.
