Europe’s largest gas field: The Dutch earthquake zone
Earthquakes are becoming more intense and more frequent in northern Netherlands, as energy companies continue to extract natural gas at increasing rates, said a report.
Partial map of NW Europe showing Groningen gas fields and adjacent areas. Source: Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Investors’ Handbook.
The government has prioritized profits over the protection of its citizens. The Dutch government received revenues of more than 14bn euros (£12bn; $18bn) from the Groningen gas fields last year, and an estimated 250bn euros since the 1960s.
“We want them to put our safety on top of everything, but they don’t, they really don’t,” says a resident, Daniella Blanken, who runs the Groningen Ground Movement.
“The government is meant to protect its citizens … We don’t feel protected.”
“It comes rumbling towards you, louder and louder and louder,” Blanken told a BBC reporter.
“Everything starts to shake. It ends with a bang, like a massive weight dropped on the house. Boof! And that is frightening, really really frightening.”
Prominent oil and gas fields of the southern North Sea and adjacent onshore areas: Source: USGS
Some 60,000 homes lie within the earthquake zone, and so far the gas companies have received about 6,000 earthquake damage claims from the residents, the report said.
“Last August there was a magnitude 3.4 tremor. Higher than any expert had previously predicted, it further sapped the residents’ confidence and forced the ministers to commission an inquiry,” according to the report.
“Until now we always knew that earthquakes could occur, now we don’t know what the new maximum could be,” says Chiel Seinen, who represents the NAM oil company collective incorporating Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp.
Southern Permian Basin-Europe. Source: USGS
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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 19, 2013 —
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