A joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil Corp. said on June 28 it would appeal a Dutch government plan to lower a production cap at the Groningen natural gas field by a further 10%.
The Dutch government has lowered production at Groningen several times over the past three years due to small earthquakes triggered by work there.
The latest cap, announced in May, would lower production to 21.6 Bcm per year from October. It was 53.9 Bcm in 2013.
The 50-50 Exxon-Shell joint venture, known as NAM, said it had been left in an impossible position by being told it could continue production—vital to supply homes with gas—but without guarantees it is meeting safety standards.
NAM cited one paragraph of the government’s May production decision in particular as troubling: “There is no model that can predict at which level of production the seismic risks align with the safety norms.”
“We need to know the rules of the game,” NAM director Gerald Schotman told reporters. “Models based on independent research have been shoved aside.”
Schotman said last year’s production plan used estimates of scenarios put together by a panel of scientists and then subjected to independent review by peers—the way the Dutch government determines acceptable levels of risk in other areas such as the safety of its dikes and flood defenses.
NAM’s appeal will be heard starting July 13 at the Council of State along with appeals by environmentalists who think the latest cap did not go far enough.
Recommended Reading
Q&A: Crescent Midstream Charts CCS Course with $1B Project
2025-02-05 - CEO Jerry Ashcroft discusses the carbon capture and storage landscape and how the company is evolving.
Intensity Infrastructure Partners Pitches Open Season for Bakken NatGas Egress
2025-02-04 - Analysts note the Bakken Shale’s need for more takeaway capacity as Intensity Infrastructure Partners launches an open season for a potential 126-mile natural gas transport line out of the basin.
ArcLight Completes $865MM Deal for Phillips 66’s Stake in NatGas Line
2025-02-03 - Kinder Morgan will continue to operate the Gulf Coast Express as a project to increase the line’s capacity moves ahead.
Overbuilt Fleet of LNG Tankers Sinking Cargo Transport Rates
2025-01-30 - LNG shipping rates are at historic lows as a flooded transport market waits for projects to come online and more cargoes to move.
ONEOK, Enterprise Renew Agreements with Houston’s Intercontinental Exchange
2025-01-29 - ONEOK and Enterprise Product Partners chose to continue their agreements to transfer and price crude oil with Houston-based Intercontinental Exchange.