The Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) must still come up with a complete and well-developed study into alternatives for the underground discharges of contaminated waste water in Twente by 1 May at the latest.
The State Supervision of Mines (SodM) has informed the company of this by letter. According to the regulator, the fact that the so-called injection has currently been at a standstill for more than a year does not detract from this obligation.
This concerns waste water that is released during oil extraction in Schoonebeek. The NAM pumped this chemically contaminated water through kilometers of pipelines to Twente to store it in empty gas fields. The inhabitants of Twente have been concerned for years about the consequences of this for their safety and health.
The cabinet also called on NAM to put an end to the controversial water injections, but was unable to intervene properly because the company has a permit. The NAM no longer has that permit, which is why the injection has been suspended since 1 January.
The NAM published a study in June last year in which alternatives are discussed. One of the alternatives is to inject the water into empty gas fields in Drenthe instead of in Twente. Purification would also be an option. But SodM has assessed that research and indicated that it is insufficiently substantiated and elaborated to be able to weigh the alternatives. The company then had until March 1 this year to complete the investigation.
According to SodM, there are four alternatives to injecting wastewater in Twente. Alternative 1 is the purification of the water into solid salt and clean fresh water, which can be discharged into the surface water. Alternative 2 is purification to solid salt and clean salt water, with a discharge at sea.
Alternative 3: Purification into one part clean fresh water and one part brine (a residual product of oil extraction, ed.), where the brine is injected into the Drenthe oil reservoir. This is called the Circular Alternative. As an alternative 4, injection of the entire water volume into the Schoonebeek gas field, which is almost empty, can be considered.
On March 9, a study was submitted by the NAM in which the alternatives are worked out, but in which only the alternative of discharges in Drenthe, but not those in Twente, are taken into account. According to SodM, this is not in line with the permit regulations, the regulator emphasizes. If the NAM does not respond to SodM’s last call with a deadline of May 1, the watchdog will proceed to ‘enforcement’. According to SodM, this may result in a penalty. According to a SodM spokesperson, the amount is not known.
In a response, NAM states that it is focusing on moving the water injection to Schoonebeek and the surrounding area. The company also promises to provide the additions to the investigation requested by SodM before 1 May.
According to the NAM spokesperson, the essence of the so-called Reevaluation Twente is to determine the best processing method for the water released during oil extraction. He indicates that, as in previous research, NAM has come to the conclusion that it is still the smartest thing to pump the water into a gas field.
As the company has already indicated, NAM will soon apply for permits for this practice in Schoonebeek.