The Dutch Senate has delayed a vote on the permanent closure of the Groningen gas field, which is set for October 1 due to earthquakes in the area, as several parties have asked for guarantees that the shutdown would not threaten the country’s energy security. The Groningen gas field was planned to be turned off on October 1, 2023, and permanently closed this coming October, the government of the Netherlands said last summer.
At the time, the government told the Parliament that two gas sites at the Groningen fields would be turned on a so-called “pilot light” – minimal gas production – for around two weeks. Now the government is looking to keep the October 1, 2024 deadline to shut down the field permanently, but the Senate is delaying a vote on a proposed law to do so. This could potentially delay the official permanent closure of the Groningen gas field by around a year and a half.