The sale by NAM of the small gas and oil locations on land will have to wait for a while. For the time being, the oil company is only focusing on offshore locations.
Almost two years ago, NAM from Assen announced that it would sell the fields and associated infrastructure. The idea was to transfer the extraction locations to four new companies in 2022 and put them on the market at some point. In total, this would involve 100 to 200 oil or gas wells per company.
The choice was motivated by declining gas extraction, which would provide less room for investment in oil and gas.
Last summer, during an information meeting, an NAM employee dropped the news that the Schoonebeek field is no longer for sale. A villager then decided to seek redress from NAM.
He was irritated by the fact that this news was not mentioned in the special environmental app. “The NAM has created this communication tool to keep residents informed of developments,” he grumbled.
The NAM confirmed to this resident that there are indeed ‘no sales plans with regard to the land activities, but that it cannot be ruled out that this could happen in the distant future.’ The ‘new geopolitical reality’ is given as the reason.
A spokesperson for NAM confirms that the company is currently focusing on the sale of its offshore (sea) activities. “The land operations are not in view for sale at this time.” According to NAM, the intention to dispose of this in the long term has not changed either. The company itself speaks of a phased approach.
The field in Schoonebeek played an important role in the creation of the NAM. The company’s founding in 1947 was a direct result of the discovery of oil near the village in Drenthe. Since then, many millions of barrels of oil have been pumped there with the so-called yes-men.