However, the authorities will keep 11 units open for another year if the winter is harsh, and then close them permanently after that, against the backdrop of ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Although gas extraction work from the field stopped in recent years, the Dutch government kept the site operating due to the uncertainty about global energy caused by the Russian war in Ukraine in February 2022.
“Many people in the region suffer from psychological problems due to gas extraction,” Jan Wigboldus, head of the Groningen Gas Council, a local association that campaigns to help earthquake victims, told AFP.
Many of them also found themselves facing a legal and technical dilemma regarding compensation.
In February, a parliamentary committee report accused the Dutch authorities of “paying no attention to the long-term risks,” stressing that it was the government’s responsibility to rectify the situation.
For more than two decades, residents living near the site have complained of earthquakes that were directly attributed to drilling operations.
Many houses in the Groningen area have been restored or rebuilt, with earthquake-resistant structures attached to them.
About 2.3 billion cubic meters were extracted from the field. Between 1963 and 2020, profits from gas extraction from Groningen amounted to about 429 billion euros, 85 percent of which went to state coffers, according to Shell.
On Friday, the Dutch News Agency quoted resigned Prime Minister Mark Rutte during his visit to the region as saying that “tens of thousands of children are in a difficult situation,” adding, “It is horrific.”
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