Production from giant Groningen natural gas field in the Netherlands might be further curtailed in response to public concern about earthquakes (OGJ, Aug. 4, 2014, p. 32).
On Feb. 18, Dutch Economy Minister Henk Kamp said he’ll set a new cap on Groningen output on July 1 and will act sooner “if we see good reasons,” Reuters reported.
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs said in January 2014 it would lower Groningen output because of seismic activity. In December it targeted a cut to 39.4 billion cu m this year from 42.5 billion cu m in 2014.
The move followed a recommendation by the State Supervision of Mines, based on data about seismic activity, that gas production be trimmed by 3.1 billion cu m this year in the southern part of the field.
Kamp didn’t specify how much further output might be trimmed.
Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV (NAM), the 50-50 joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell PLC and ExxonMobil Corp. that handles production from Groningen, estimates that, as of yearend 2012, the field had produced 2.02 trillion cu m of gas since its discovery in 1959 and still held 780 billion cu m recoverable.
Groningen anchors the Dutch position as Europe’s second-largest producer and exporter of natural gas, behind Norway.
