The committee announced that the parliamentary inquiry commission for natural gas extraction in Groningen will be the first to discuss earthquake victims in public hearings starting next week. In the first week, scientists, operators NAM and Shell and former Minister of Economic Affairs Annemarie Jorritsma (VVD) will also be given a vote.
Three years ago, the House of Representatives decided to conduct its own research into gas extraction in Groningen and the resulting problems. The committee consists of MPs from VVD, D66, CDA, ChristenUnie, SP and PvdA. Tom van der Lee, Member of Parliament GroenLinks, is chairman of the committee. So far, members have had 124 private pre-interviews and gone through piles of documents.
“It really is about sixty years of history,” says Van der Lee. “We had to remove a lot of material. People from the past are usually no longer alive. We also chose public hearings based on how the story should be told.”
Questions that will be discussed in the first week include: How big is the gas problem for the people of Groningen? What signals do scientists study the relationship between given outgassing and earthquakes? What was the relationship like between the oil companies and the government?
Damage and insecurity
The Groningen gas field was discovered in 1959 and yielded several billion dollars to the government, so citizens, and the oil companies Shell and ExxonMobil. But gas extraction also suffered. The earthquakes that followed mining damaged buildings, residents feeling insecure and mistrustful of the government, associated businesses and institutions.
Van der Lee: “The breach of trust was an important reason why the House of Representatives started this investigation. I hope that a public questioning of authorities and experts will help to rectify this situation.”
living in NOS
The hearings will start next Monday at 10 a.m. and will be broadcast live on NPO Politics. After Parliament’s summer break, which began on August 29, the second interrogation period will begin. A total of seventy stakeholders and experts were interviewed during the study.
Source: NOS
Smith Charles is a talented entertainment journalist and author at The Nation View. He has a passion for all things entertainment and writes about the latest movies, TV shows, music, and celebrity news. He’s known for his in-depth interviews with actors, musicians, and other industry figures, and his ability to provide unique perspectives on the entertainment industry.