If it were up to the Dutch Petroleum Company (NAM), gas would be extracted in Langelo within the next two years. This would return the original function of the installation in North Drenthe. Local residents and the municipality of Noordenveld are concerned.
The installation in Langelo (also known as UGS Norg) has been serving as a gas storage facility for about 25 years. Gas is ‘pumped in’ in the summer, only to disappear again in the winter to households throughout the Netherlands. The gas storage has a maximum working volume of 6 billion cubic meters of gas. But underneath there is a whole reservoir of about 15 billion cubic meters of gas.
This gas is called ‘cushion gas’ and serves to maintain the necessary pressure for the soil. The NAM believes it can extract this cushion gas without damaging the homes of local residents. “Research has already been done into this in the past,” says Martijn Kleverlaan, director of NAM. “This installation was originally set up as a production location. Gas has previously been extracted here.”
According to Kleverlaan, extracting the cushion gas is ‘good for the wallet and for the climate’. “Although demand is steadily declining, there will still be a high demand for gas in the coming years,” says Kleverlaan. “And if you can supply it yourself, it is less polluting than importing it from abroad.”
That is why NAM has submitted a extraction application to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK).