Fossil Energy – The Netherlands
The Dutch government and industry must speed up the extraction of gas in the North Sea.
That is what a large majority in the House of Representatives wants. Yesterday, parliament supported a motion calling for an ‘actual’ acceleration of gas extraction.
To achieve such an acceleration, the Chamber wants the Cabinet to conclude an administrative agreement with companies that want to invest in drilling for gas in the North Sea. “That will lead to an acceleration because companies will then have certainty about what the government intends to do in the coming years,” it said.
According to The Chamber, an agreement with the central government removes uncertainty for businesses and new projects can get off the ground.
Gas extraction in the North Sea (for national use) ensures that the Netherlands does not transfer billions a year to unfree countries. It is considerably less polluting than importing shale gas from the United States, which Holland now hypocritically looks away from. It also ensures that the Netherlands strengthen its security of supply and thus prevent energy bills from rising again as they did during the energy crisis.
The Chamber stresses that this gas extraction does not take place in the Wadden Sea. It concerns the part of the North Sea north of the Wadden Sea, where the British are already extracting gas. “There it can be extracted responsibly. Our gas has to come from somewhere in the next 10 to 20 years.”
Although the current government wants to reduce the red tape required to apply for a licence to extract gas in the North Sea, the Chamber says the yield of gas from the North Sea is still falling every year.
“This is because business does not trust the government. If we reach an administrative agreement, trust returns because companies indicate what the government can expect from them in terms of gas revenues, for example. And the government gives investment security so that projects get off the ground.”