News item | 22-04-2022 | 15:15
The government is actively working on a national and European level to reduce dependence on coal, oil and gas from Russia as quickly as responsibly as possible. The aim is for the Netherlands to be independent from Russian fossil fuels by the end of this year.
To achieve this, the government is focusing on energy conservation, sustainability and more imports of energy from other countries. This will enable the Netherlands to completely save and replace the share of Russian gas before the end of the year. Like the rest of the European Union, the Netherlands will no longer import coal from Russia from 11 August 2022 at the latest. In the coming weeks, the government will make efforts to make agreements with other countries to become independent from Russian oil as soon as possible, while maintaining sufficient security of supply. In addition, the cabinet is also taking measures to guarantee that the gas storage facilities are filled before the coming winter. By means of a guarantee scheme that reduces the risks of high gas prices and by having the gas storage facilities partly filled by state-owned company EBN.
Phasing out fossil fuels
It is estimated that Dutch gas consumption can be reduced by around 9 billion m3 by 2025 through sustainable measures. That is more than the import from Russia (about 6 billion m3). Due to the expansion of the LNG terminal (liquefied gas) in Rotterdam and the construction of a floating LNG terminal in Eemshaven, approximately 8 billion m3 of extra liquefied gas can be imported before the end of the year. This does depend on the availability of sufficient liquid gas on the world market. Because the gas market is international, European agreements are needed to ultimately ban Russian gas altogether.
The European Union has agreed with the fifth sanction package that coal from Russia will no longer be bought in Europe after August 11, 2022. The cabinet also wants to stop importing oil from Russia as soon as possible. That is why the Netherlands has asked the European Commission to investigate how Europe can reduce the purchase of Russian oil while maintaining sufficient security of supply.
Filling the gas stores
Due to the high gas prices and additional risks of losses, it is currently not attractive for companies to fill the gas storage facilities. Because filling is important to be prepared for the coming winter, the cabinet is taking measures to encourage companies to do so. With a guarantee scheme, the difference between the current gas prices and the gas prices next winter will be reimbursed by the government. With this, the government hedges the price risk to a certain extent. In addition, the cabinet appoints state-owned company Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) to fill the Bergermeer gas storage facility to 70% of its capacity, insofar as companies fail to do so despite the scheme. The total costs depend on gas prices and are estimated at 623 million euros. The costs of the measure will be recovered via an additional levy from the gas users who benefit from filling the gas storage facilities.