Court orders probe into gas field quakes

A DUTCH court has ordered prosecutors to investigate whether a major energy company may be criminally responsible for a series of earthquakes triggered by gas production in the biggest gas field in the European Union.

The Arnhem-Leeuwarden court told prosecutors to conduct a closer investigation into the destruction or damage to buildings which could have posed a life-threatening danger to others, committed by the NAM company between January 1993 and April 2015, in the northern Groningen province.

NAM, which is half-owned by Shell and ExxonMobil, has been extracting gas from the massive Groningen gas field since 1963.

But the area has been plagued by a series of minor earthquakes which grew in number as gas extraction increased, causing major damage to homes, farm homesteads and historic buildings.

Some residents and environment groups laid a complaint against NAM in 2015, but the Dutch prosecutor’s service then said there was no criminal case to investigate.

That prompted a second complaint, with the court finding yesterday that a full investigation into whether there had been any criminal liability had been neglected.

“A proper investigation must first be conducted, after which a decision about whether to prosecute will be made,” the court ruled.

NAM said it was surprised by the verdict, but would cooperate.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that NAM will be prosecuted,” the company said. “It depends on the outcome of the investigation.”

The case comes after Dutch Economic Minister Henk Kamp said on Tuesday that gas production in Groningen would be cut back from 24 billion cubic metres to 21.6 billion cubic metres a year.

Production has been steadily cut back in the past two years. – AFP