(Photo : Cris Toala Olivares/Getty Images) An aerial view of a natural gas extraction plant and pipework above ground at an onshore site operated by Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV (NAM) on November 22, 2021 in Groningen, Netherlands. A recent earthquake was felt in the city of Groningen where the largest natural gas field in the European Union is located, and is scheduled to close by the end of September 2023.

The government of the Netherlands announced Friday (September 22) that it would order the Groningen gas field to cease production at the end of this month.

According to the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, the gas field's production would end its operations beginning October 1, while providing the possibility of limited restarts during extreme cold weather.

Closure Due to Earthquake Damage Fears

The Dutch government of outgoing prime minister Mark Rutte previously announced its plans to close the field by 2030 due to the risk of low-magnitude earthquakes. However, officials in Amsterdam have issued an initial draft proposal to pull the date closer to the end of September after residents of the Groningen region have complained for over two decades of quakes because of drilling operations.

The closure would mean the end of operations in Europe's largest natural gas field, which has been running for 60 years, and once accounted for 90% of the gas supplied to Dutch households.

In recent years, extraction from the field has been cut to nearly zero, but the Dutch government has kept the field operational due to uncertainties brought about by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

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Dutch Lawmakers Draft a Bill to Demolish Groningen Gas Facilities

In addition, the ministry stated that Dutch government lawmakers plan to pass a law stipulating that all extraction locations be demolished to end gas production on the site for good. It added that gas would only be temporarily extracted over the coming winter in the event of extreme cold, which it defined as when daytime low temperatures were consistently around -6.5 degrees Celsius for several consecutive days.

Definitive closure of the Groningen gas field is scheduled for October 1, 2024, even though "uncertainty on the gas market is not expected to completely disappear...and may even continue to rise" after that point, it added.

The decision was finalized at the Council of Ministers meeting Friday when government officials had their final opportunity to voice concerns regarding the Cabinet's draft decision to stop gas production, the NL Times reported.

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