Governments of Northern Netherlands appeal against expansion of gas extraction

In association with

RTV Drenthe

NOS News•today, 12:25

Wetterskip Fryslân is approaching the Council of State about the plans of the Canadian company Vermilion Energy to extend and expand gas extraction near the village of De Blesse.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) has approved the plans, but the water board disagrees and is appealing. The province of Friesland and the municipalities of Weststellingwerf and Westerveld (Drenthe) have joined the water board.

The gas field at De Blesse is located in the Frisian municipality of Weststellingwerf, on the border of Drenthe, Friesland and Overijssel. In the border region, Vermilion Energy is drilling for gas in several small fields. In 2022, the company submitted a request to the Ministry of Economic Affairs to extend and increase production at De Blesse.

The State Secretary approved the amended extraction plan last November, but several local authorities, such as Wetterskip Fryslân, are strongly against gas extraction in the area.

They are concerned about the consequences and point out the risk of land subsidence and the possible consequences for nature, people and the environment. The water levels relative to ground level can change due to subsidence. When flood defenses fall, the risk of flooding increases.

According to RTV Drenthe, it is the first time that Wetterskip Fryslân has gone to the Council of State.

With every application for the extraction of gas, it must be mapped out in advance how the ground can subside as much as possible and what the consequences are for, among other things, the water system. The expectation of soil subsidence in the area has been adjusted by a few centimeters in the plans for De Blesse.

Since the start of gas extraction in 1999, the ground has dropped by an estimated four centimeters. In the latest plans, Vermilion assumes a maximum drop of eight centimeters.

The gas extraction area at De Blesse is located between the high sandy soils of Drenthe and the lower Frisian peat polders. Soil subsidence can cause problems here, says Joca Jansen, hydrologist at Wetterskip Fryslân.

“As more water drains from the higher areas, it becomes increasingly drier. In the lower areas it becomes increasingly difficult to keep it dry, because more water goes there.” This can lead to drought or wet damage, says Jansen.

When extracting gas, the ministry assumes that the water board can adjust the water level to compensate for the consequences of gas extraction. But according to Wetterskip Fryslân director Remco van Maurik, that is not easy.

“We realize that the system has reached its end and that we should not burden it even more,” he says, 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 and it affects the system even more.”

Measures can be devised for these problems, he says, “but everything that is technically possible may be unaffordable or undesirable.” According to agreements, Vermilion reimburses all measures that water boards have to take in the region. Yet Wetterskip Fryslân is not reassured, because according to the water board the damage is irreparable.

The consequences of gas extraction are not only a problem for the water board, but for the entire region, says Van Maurik. “If you want to combat dehydration in Drenthe, for example, you have to keep water there and bring it to it. That costs a lot of money. More money than we will earn with this gas extraction.”