The Netherlands have entirely stopped production at the Groningen gas field, Europe’s largest, on 1 October 2023. However, Dutch authorities are keeping 11 extraction wells open at the gas field for another year, in case of a severe winter. Groningen’s production facilities will be eventually dismantled during the course of 2024.
Drilling and extraction from the Groningen field, which began in the early 1960s, have resulted in earthquakes that drew criticism from the local population. The Dutch Government announced the closing of the field in 2018 and gas extraction has drastically been cut since then. However, the Netherlands kept the site operational longer due to the energy supply uncertainties prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. NAM (Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij) (60%), a joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobil (50/50 JV), and EBN (40%), held the unique production licence for the Groningen field in recent years. Around 2,300 bcm of gas have been extracted from the field over 60 years of operation.
In 2022, natural gas accounted for 37% of the country's total energy consumption and 40% of its power mix. The country's domestic production (18 bcm in 2022) covered only 56% of its consumption.