Enslaved to a fear of earthquakes from gas extraction
Dutch government finally gives in to protests and agrees to cease pumping from lucrative field
THE hamlet of Doodstil – which translates as “dead quiet” in Dutch – feels like it could have been named as part of an elaborate joke.
Despite its name and appearance, this cluster of homes surrounded by flat, green fields and picturesque dykes actually sits in an unlikely earthquake zone.
Fifty-five years of conventional gas extraction from Europe’s largest field have made the Netherlands’ province of Groningen anything but calm.
Now, warned of the risk of a catastrophic earthquake that could cost lives and homes, the Dutch government is gradually turning off a supply that has generated more than €265billion (£237billion) since 1963.
This northern province of just over half a million people is still fighting to repair quake-related damage with gas company NAM, owned 50:50 by Shell and Exxonmobil.
And as shale gas fracking operations in Lancashire halt due to seismic activity – having been stopped in 2011 for probably causing two earthquakes – locals (Groningers) warn that quakes can sink more than your home.
Janneke Ockels, 57, whose 19th century cottage in Zandeweer is held up by wooden beams, has spent months in court, fighting for repairs to be independently assessed.
“The biggest earthquake was in 2012,” she recalls. “I was sitting in the kitchen with a friend and suddenly everything moved and shook, and my chimney came down. Now, people sit outside my house and talk about it.
“I have owned this for 28 years, and put all my money into it: it’s my dream house, for my son and my grandson. But I have no money to repair it.”
And the cracks aren’t just in the walls, says 58-year-old Elze Schollema from the village of Usquert. He closed his 27-year-old garage business due to the physical and mental toll of the seismic activity. Where a tea cloth might normally hang in his kitchen is a trowel ready for repairs.
“I sleep really badly,” he says. “It’s the stress – that’s the real monster. It’s not just the quakes but how you are dealt with – the government, and fighting with NAM, the oil company, to get everything refunded. You aren’t living in safety, and you don’t know when the big one is coming.”
In January, a quake of 3.4 on the Richter scale was recorded in nearby Zeerijp, and the big fear at the moment is of a quake big enough to put lives seriously at risk. Sodm, the Dutch regulator, was so concerned that it released a report in February calling to reduce gas production to 12 billion cubic metres per year.
The warning worked. The Dutch government has pledged to stop pumping from this Groningen field entirely by 2030, reinforce 1,500 homes and investigate another 7,000. NAM will pay back the costs to the state, instead of judging claims itself.
Meanwhile, the government is building a €500million factory to convert imported gas into Grongingen-equivalent fuel to heat homes, and providing €75million for nine major manufacturers to change to foreign gas.
“There has never been a case of one house falling down, nor has there been one casualty,” a spokesman from the department of economic affairs told
The Daily Telegraph. “But this situation is no longer socially acceptable.”
Eric Wiebes, the economic affairs minister, told Dutch television programme Pauw: “Gas has always been very important for the Netherlands and also for Groningen. But, at a certain point, it’s a bit like a really good party. You always leave too late.”
Dr Wouter van de Zee, subsurface manager for Sodm, points out that the physical mechanisms that cause earthquakes are different for conventional gas extraction – as in Groningen – and shale gas fracking, but both can destabilise land.
This proved to be the case in the large field of Groningen, where there are thousands of fault lines. Shoring up vulnerable houses is now top priority.
“The Netherlands is very dependent on the gas from Groningen,” he says, explaining why the decision to stop took so long.
“When you look from the point of view of the safety of Groningers, the government should have acted sooner, but there are also safety issues if you suddenly stop production; for example, in warming houses in the Netherlands.”
But even when this Grongingen gas stops, earthquakes will go on as the ground stabilises, explains Eelco Eikenaar, a regional councillor for Groningen, who has advocated for worried residents.
He says the mental legacy will stay too. “Living with uncertainty and living with damage isn’t only a physical problem, but it causes mental problems and affects society very deeply,” he says.
NAM did not respond to requests for comment.
Back in Groningen, where houses sit for sale for months, with many cracked and abandoned, 36-year-old youth worker Linda Visser is determined to fight.
“There are norms calculated about the number of dead per thousand that is OK – but this is about our lives,” she says.
“Behind every door are more stories, questions, real vulnerability and pain. It’s a very conscious choice you make not to be chased away.”
‘It’s the stress – that’s the real monster. It’s not just the quakes but how you are dealt with’