The damage to the land in the provinces of Drenthe, Friesland and Overijssel will be irreparable if gas extraction in the small fields on the border is further expanded. This is stated by local authorities, including Wetterskip Fryslân.
The water board is going to the Council of State for the first time. The municipality of Westerveld, Weststellingwerf and the province of Friesland are also joining. The aim is to reverse the minister’s decision to extract more gas.
In the border region of Drenthe, Friesland and Overijssel, the Canadian company Vemilion is drilling for gas in several places. Gas extraction in the fields around Diever, Vinkega, De Blesse-Blesdijke, Sonnega, Nijensleek, Eesveen, Noordwolde and Weststellingwerf can together lead to a several centimeter subsidence. This is done in the shape of a bowl: more in one place than in the other.
With every application for the extraction of gas, it must be mapped out in advance how the soil can subside as much as possible and what the consequences are for, among other things, the water system. Since the ground fell faster than calculated during gas extraction in Vinkega in 2020, local authorities have been extra strict. Moreover, the limit of what is technically possible seems to have been reached.
“We realize that the system has reached its end and that we should not burden it even more,” says Wetterskip Fryslân director Remco van Maurik, referring to water management. “We are working on all kinds of national and regional programs to keep it livable. This is on top of that. So we say about gas extraction: don’t do it.”
The prediction of land subsidence in the area has been adjusted by a few centimeters in recent extraction plans (De Blesse-Blesdijke). Since the start of gas extraction in 1999, the ground has dropped by an estimated four centimeters. Vermilion’s latest plans assume a drop of eight centimeters.
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Tags: Risk wet feet failed harvest due expansion gas extraction border region authorities appeal
