Shell, one of the parent companies of the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), already knew in the years before the earthquake in Huizinge in 2012 that gas extraction could cause damage and even that there was a small risk of injury as a result of the extraction. That is what former Shell vice president Pieter Dekker said during the interrogation by the parliamentary committee of inquiry.
This committee investigates gas extraction and Groningen. As vice president of Shell, Dekker was involved in gas extraction between 1997 and 2016. He was responsible for the joint ventures GasTerra (formerly Gasunie) and NAM.
The earthquake in Huizinge was seen as a tipping point in the Groningen file. Before that, studies showed that “the maximum magnitude of the earthquakes would be limited to 3.9 on the Rigter scale,” Dekker said.
Known risk
“In the period before Huizinge, we knew of course that there could be minor damage,” said the former Shell foreman. “That was a known risk and that it was caused by gas extraction from Groningen had meanwhile been established. But the analysis was that the damage was limited and that there was only a very small chance of injury.”
Dekker even calls the calculated risk of injury “extremely small” and therefore an “acceptable risk” for NAM to continue drilling. However, the law stated that the company had to take all measures “that can reasonably be required to prevent damage and to guarantee safety”, objected committee member Peter Kwint (MP for the SP).
According to the former Shell CEO, that also happened. But “with this activity you can’t prevent damage 100 percent”. According to him, there was “a sufficiently safe framework”. Dekker: “I don’t think we could have taken other measures at that time to prevent the expected minor damage.”
