The unrest about gas extraction in Groningen between oil companies Shell and ExxonMobil and the Dutch government appears to be greater than expected. This can be read in the hitherto secret minutes of the so-called gas building in the hands of the NOS.
Gasbouw is a collaboration between the national government, Shell and ExxonMobil in the extraction and sale of natural gas. NAM (Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij), owned by Shell and Exxon, is responsible for the actual extraction of natural gas. Not only did senior officials and oil companies constantly coordinate their external communications, both sides tried to prevent the gas tap from closing.
In a few minutes we read that not only representatives of NAM, Shell and ExxonMobil have had great difficulty reacting quickly to new information about earthquakes in Groningen. This also applies to senior officials at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. They did not immediately take the advice about the increasing insecurity caused by earthquakes seriously.
Shocking Opinion Editor
Ten years ago, on August 16, 2012, Huizinge experienced the strongest earthquake ever in Groningen. That is why the State Mine Monitoring (SodM) made recommendations that shook the natural gas building to its foundations.
The regulator has found that previous predictions of future earthquakes due to degassing are no longer accurate. Earthquakes can become much stronger and potentially lead to deaths. The advice of the then Inspector General Jan de Jong was to reduce gas extraction as quickly as possible.
Board questions
It should be noted in the minutes that the government officials of the gas building also had difficulty with the position of SSM. Senior EZ officials such as General Director Mark Dierikx were always present at the meetings. But also NAM director Bart van de Leemput, Shell CEO Dick Benschop, ExxonMobil-Benelux director Joost van Roost and Stan Dessens of Energie Beheer Nederland.
They were all major players in the gas building because of their position. They agreed on how much gas could be extracted and when to report to the Minister of Economic Affairs. For example, it seems that top official Dierikx has chosen not to inform the minister about the latest information from SSM. There would still be many questions about that.
other expert
SodM has consistently pushed for better seismic risk analysis by NAM, even with less gas production. NAM has not made these calculations and is not obliged by the partnership. Instead, it was suggested to hire another security expert: Professor Ira Helsloot. It made less troubling predictions than SodM. This clearly suited the members of the partnership better.
We can also read that opportunities are being sought in the higher echelons of the ministry to set aside state control of the mines. “Mr Dierikx outlines that he is contacting the KNMI, asks whether he would like to make a report to the National Audit and briefly outlines in a timeline what the NAM will do and when a decision can be made. last mentioned. important as a counterbalance to possible marking by government supervision”
big disagreement
The difference of opinion between NAM and SodM is that at a certain point, in January 2013, discussion was no longer possible according to the minutes: “The chairman (Exxon CEO Van Roost, note of the editor) The tensions discussed between NAM and Staatstoezicht, there are still opportunities for dialogue. The director (Van de Leemput, ed.) says he sees no more options at the moment.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economic Affairs embraces the conclusions of Ira Helsloot. “The department wants to steer government supervision in line with Professor Helsloot’s vision,” the documents state.
parliamentary inquiry
After the warning from the State Mine Inspectorate to reduce gas production as soon as possible, gas production will not decrease in 2013, that is next year, on the contrary. This is causing outrage in Groningen. Many in Groningen hope that the next parliamentary inquiry will reveal exactly what happened that year.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs says it does not want to respond substantively so as not to hinder the parliamentary inquiry committee.
Source: NOS
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