Since May 2020, the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) has repeatedly pressured the government to strengthen fewer houses in Groningen than the government wants. In addition, the Asser gas company would have threatened not to pay for houses that the government declares unsafe. According to the NAM, the government uses ‘outdated standards’.
Government invoices are not paid in full by NAM. According to the newspapers, this has been known for a year, but the gas company says to the outside world that it is an accounting problem. The accountant of the NAM would not find the invoices detailed enough.
NAM: ‘Government does not keep to agreements’
The NAM believes that the government does not adhere to agreements made about how unsafe houses are designated and reinforced. The government says that it regularly updates architectural and seismic insights, but the NAM says that this is not happening, write NRC and Dagblad van het Noorden. As a result, ‘a significant number of houses are being reinforced to outdated standards (…) while reinforcement is no longer or only limitedly required for safety’. The gas extraction company wants an explanation from the minister why he does not follow instructions from NAM about adjustments.
A few years ago, the central government took over from NAM to deal with damage as a result of gas extraction. The government did this because there was ‘great dissatisfaction with the way NAM dealt with the damage and reinforcements: not generously, legally and without an eye for the vulnerable position of the residents involved’, the newspapers write.
‘Do not interfere with policy’
The NAM tells the newspapers that it will not interfere with ‘the policy and implementation of the reinforcement operation’. “How many houses will be reinforced and how that is done is entirely up to the central government and the region. NAM is not involved in this. NAM only has a discussion with the central government about the charging on of costs.”