The cabinet is taking legal action against the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) for the 190 million euros that the company must pay according to the State.
This concerns money for strengthening and repairing earthquake damage in Groningen as a result of gas extraction. The state charges part of this to the NAM.
The NAM itself had already started arbitration proceedings, so this is a counterclaim, the Ministry of Economic Affairs reports. Since 2020, 560 million euros has been charged to NAM for damage and reinforcement, but more than a third of this has not yet been paid. The NAM has been summoned several times to pay these outstanding bills.
“It is unacceptable that NAM tries to avoid responsibility for the situation in Groningen in this way,” writes State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (Mining) to the House of Representatives.