The commissioning of the nitrogen plant in Zuidbroek, Groningen, has again been delayed. Minister Hans Vijlbrief (Mining, D66) announced this on Thursday inform the House of Representatives† Vijlbrief calls the setback “difficult to accept”. It is still unclear whether the delay will have consequences for the phasing out of Groningen gas production.
The nitrogen plant in Zuidbroek converts foreign gas into so-called low-calorific gas, so that it is suitable for Dutch homes. The intention is that the Netherlands will no longer be dependent on Groningen gas and that the field there will eventually close. According to Vijlbrief, Gasunie expects that the nitrogen plant can open in September “with considerable effort”.
Also read: Suppose the winter is severe, will the Groningen gas field close in 2022?
The Gasunie wants gas extraction from Groningen to increase by 1.2 billion cubic meters, according to the minister, but he does not want to go along with that for the time being. The ‘gas year’ runs from October 2021 to September this year. After that, the government has the ambition to stop gas extraction in Groningen. Vijlbrief says that his point of departure remains to be able to close the Groningerveld “as quickly as possible”.
pilot light
If the factory is not further delayed, the gas field will run “on the pilot flame” from October 2022. In that case, a production of 1.5 billion cubic meters per year will still be needed to be able to fall back on the gas fields in the event of an emergency, such as extreme cold. The cabinet then wants to turn off the gas tap in 2025 and at the latest in 2028.
The Groningen gas issue is a lingering dossier for the cabinet, for which (former) ministers will have to answer to a parliamentary inquiry committee this summer. At the beginning of this year, the then minister Stef Blok (Economic Affairs, VVD) announced that until September, twice as much gas was needed from Groningen than had been anticipated. Even then, this was due to a delay in the nitrogen plant and more demand from Germany.
Angry reactions were heard from the province: the Groninger Soil Movement fulminated that the cabinet was “playing with the safety” of the local population.