Highlights Output hike would lead to higher earthquake risk: ministry Field set to close in mid-2022, back-up role to remain European gas prices on run to record highs The Dutch Continue Reading
The extreme weather has led to major travel disruption, as here in Haarle in the Netherlands The Netherlands has been hit by its first major snowstorm in a decade, forecasters Continue Reading
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte extended almost all of his country’s tough lockdown measures on Tuesday for at least a month, saying that the rapid spread of the new more Continue Reading
Rioters set fires in the center of the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven and pelted police with rocks Sunday at a banned demonstration against coronavirus lockdown measures, while officers responded Continue Reading
The Dutch government wants to impose a curfew as part of beefed-up restrictions to rein in the spread of a new more contagious virus variant that already accounts for at Continue Reading
A group of environmental organizations backed by thousands of Dutch citizens launched a civil case Tuesday against the energy giant Shell, asking a court to order the multinational to commit Continue Reading
The increasingly global nature of natural gas, with the rise of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply and trade, is making one of Europe’s key natural gas trading hubs into an Continue Reading
Iceland’s largest electricity generator and the port of Rotterdam have agreed to study the best way to ship zero-carbon hydrogen produced from hydropower to feed Europe’s growing demand, the two Continue Reading
Natural gas output at Europe’s largest onshore L-cal gas field, Groningen in the Netherlands, fell by half in Gas Year 19 as production quotas at the field became progressively stricter, Continue Reading
Output at Europe’s largest onshore L-cal gas field, Groningen in the Netherlands, registered a new record low in June, falling below 500 million cu m for the first time, NAM Continue Reading
The Netherlands ordered a mass mink cull to extinguish a coronavirus outbreak linked to at least two human cases, hastening the demise of an industry ordered to cease by 2024. Continue Reading
Gas production at Groningen, Europe’s largest gas field, will end in 2022, eight years earlier than planned due to the risk of earthquakes. The move will leave the continent’s gas Continue Reading
BYD has secured the largest single order to date for full battery-electric buses in Europe in a deal with Keolis Nederland BV, the Dutch subsidiary of global public transport provider, Continue Reading
KLM has purchased sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for flights out of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The sustainable fuel is produced by Neste from used cooking oil and will reduce CO 2 Continue Reading
The Netherlands’ Senate, its upper house, is to vote next Tuesday on a parliamentary bill banning the use of coal in power generation by 2030, it said late Tuesday. The Continue Reading
JDriving through fields of low-lying Dutch farmland you pass an occasional odd cluster of silvery pipes and tanks. They are the only visible sign that deep below this northeast corner Continue Reading
One of the world’s largest independent oil traders, Gunvor Group, plans to revamp its refinery in Rotterdam to adapt it to produce low-sulfur fuel oil that would be compliant with Continue Reading
Europe’s energy landscape will be completely changed once the Dutch shut down the largest gas field on the continent years ahead of schedule, according to Rystad Energy. The Netherlands recently Continue Reading
The city of Amsterdam envisions a future in which fleets of autonomous boats cruise its many canals to transport goods and people, collect trash, or self-assemble into floating stages and Continue Reading
Oil products output at Europe’s largest oil refinery—Shell’s 404,000-bpd Pernis refinery in the Netherlands—will be reduced after workers started a strike on Monday, demanding higher wages. “There will be impact Continue Reading
Shell’s 400,000 bpd Pernis oil refinery in the Netherlands will see a reduction in output beginning on April 8, organized by striking workers seeking higher wages. Last week , the Continue Reading
Gas production at the earthquake-prone Groningen field will drop by at least 75 percent in the next five years, ahead of schedule towards the projected end of extraction. The Dutch Continue Reading
The Netherlands has been the source of cheap energy for northwest Europe for the past decades. The discovery of the Groningen gas field, the 9th largest in the world, provided Continue Reading
Plans for offshore wind farms and new power cables are expected to help facilitate Dutch government plans to close coal plants and end gas production at the Groningen field by Continue Reading
Europe’s biggest gas field–Groningen in the north of the Netherlands–has been pumping gas for more than half a century and supplies gas to 98 percent of the Dutch population. But Continue Reading
In 2016 the Dutch gas market achieved a major milestone when the TTF natural gas hub became the benchmark for European gas , taking the lead from the British NGC. Continue Reading
Dutch economy minister Eric Wiebes will send a letter to the country’s Cabinet containing details of a major cut to extraction levels at the Groningen gas field by March 31 Continue Reading
Natural gas isn’t the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of the Netherlands. Clean energy is a more likely association. And yet gas is at the center Continue Reading
A large gas discovery in the Dutch North Sea could be even bigger after an exploration drill beat expectations, one of the companies involved said, a shot in the arm Continue Reading
Shell will try to restart this Friday one of the two crude distillation units at its 404,000-bpd Pernis refinery—the biggest refinery in Europe—after it was shuttered following a fire at Continue Reading
A Royal Dutch Shell refinery in Rotterdam will remain closed until mid-August after a fire at the facility’s electricity stations caused it to shut down over the weekend, according to Continue Reading
Europe’s biggest refinery, Pernis, is currently “out of order”, Shell said late Tuesday, adding that the power station where a fire started Saturday evening needs to be repaired before “the Continue Reading
Traders in Asia are considering shipping diesel and jet fuel to Europe after a fire at that region’s largest oil refinery disrupted supplies and boosted fuel margins, five traders and Continue Reading
Royal Dutch Shell is shutting down Europe’s largest refinery after a fire at a high-voltage electricity switch station. The fire at the Pernis refinery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, started late Continue Reading
The largest and oldest-producing gas field in Western Europe, the Groningen field, is on the verge of being shut down. If that happens, it will entail the tumbling of Netherlands’ Continue Reading
For decades, the giant Groningen gas field beneath the flat, green farmland in the north of this country counted among the greatest prizes for Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Continue Reading
The wind over the canal stirred up whitecaps and rattled cafe umbrellas. Rowers strained toward a finish line and spectators hugged the shore. Henk Ovink, hawkish, wiry, head shaved, watched Continue Reading
Initially, trains in the Netherlands were set to run entirely on renewable energy by 2018. However, it seems officials have been able to beat that goal by an entire year. Continue Reading
The queue of ships waiting outside Europe’s biggest port and oil-trading hub of Rotterdam has grown to the longest in seven years as a global supply glut fills storage capacity. Continue Reading
China’s switch to higher quality gasoline is being felt half a world away as barges bringing supplies for export clog up Amsterdam’s port, which ships more of the fuel than Continue Reading
LyondellBasell Industries NV on Tuesday reported a worse-than-expected 31% slide in revenue, as its product prices remain under pressure. Still, the company was able to notch better-than-expected profit growth. The Continue Reading
Shell reorganizes its upstream operation as it plans for a prolonged downturn due to low oil prices Royal Dutch Shell plc said Tuesday it is planning for a prolonged downturn due to low oil prices as the firm announced a reorganization of its upstream operation would increase accountability for performance and align the company to deliver on its strategy. In a statement to coincide with the firm’s ‘management day’, Shell said that both its net investment and dividend payments have been covered by operating cash flow in the year to the end of the third quarter of 2015 – a period during which oil prices averaged $60 per barrel. Shell highlighted cost cutting that has seen a 10-percent reduction in operating costs and a 20-percent reduction in capital spending during 2015, together amounting to $11 billion. The firm’s drive to reduce costs and simplify its business has led to […]
Royal Dutch Shell announces divestment from Chinese and French markets after reporting weak results for the third quarter. File photo by Brian Kersey/UPI THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Nov. 2 (UPI) — After reporting heavy losses for the third quarter, Royal Dutch Shell said Monday it sold off stakes in Chinese and French holdings in the downstream sector. For $510 million, Shell said it sold off its liquefied petroleum gas business in France to rival DCC Energy. The divestment includes the staff from business entity Butagaz and the brand. In China, for a confidential sum, the Dutch supermajor said it sold a 75 percent stake in a lubricants division to Chinese investment firm Huo’s Group and U.S.-based multinational investor The Carlyle Group. "Both divestments are consistent with Shell’s strategy to concentrate its downstream footprint on assets and markets where it can be most competitive, and to divest its LPG businesses worldwide," […]
Royal Dutch Shell Plc said its record takeover of BG Group Plc will still deliver value to investors even in a prolonged oil-industry downturn and reshaped its business in preparation for the acquisition. Europe’s biggest oil company will save an addition $1 billion in operating costs from the combination with BG, bringing the total estimate of synergies from the deal to $3.5 billion, Shell said in a statement on Tuesday. The takeover will still add to the company’s earnings per share and cash flow from operations even after the outlook for Brent crude prices to 2018 dropped by $10 to $15 a barrel since the deal was announced in April. Oil’s renewed slump to a six-year low in August prompted some investors to question the logic of the acquisition, valued at $70 billion when it was announced. Shell expects the deal to expand its access to oil reserves in […]
European Commission clears Shell acquisition of British counterpart BG Group. Photo by Christian Lagerek BRUSSELS, Sept. 2 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group announced their planned merger received unconditional approval Wednesday from the European Commission. The board of directors at Shell and BG Group issued a joint statement in April saying they’ve reached an agreement for the Dutch acquisition of its rival. The deal, valued at around $70 billion, is among the largest acquisitions since the Exxon Mobil merger was completed in 1999. It also comes at a time when most energy companies are streamlining capital expenses in a weak oil market. Both companies issued statements Wednesday saying the merger was approved by the European Commission, which found the combined corporate market share would be limited in terms of exploration and production despite the acquisition. When the deal was announced Helge Lund , chairman of BG Group, […]
Shell’s company logo is pictured at a gas station in Zurich April 8, 2015. Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) is to ax 6,500 jobs this year and step up spending cuts to deal with an extended period of lower oil prices which contributed to a 37 percent drop in the oil and gas group’s second-quarter profits. The Anglo-Dutch company also said it was planning more asset disposals as it pushes ahead with its proposed $70 billion acquisition of BG Group ( BG.L ), bringing total asset sales between 2014 and 2018 to $50 billion. "We have to be resilient in a world where oil prices remain low for some time, whilst keeping an eye on recovery," Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said. Shell said it anticipated 6,500 staff and direct contractor reductions in 2015 from a total of nearly 100,000 employees. And the group said it would […]
Production at the Groningen gas field will be slashed to 13.5 billion cubic meters in the second half of 2015, the government said, resulting in total output of 30 billion cubic meters this year, substantially lower than the previous target of 39.4 billion cubic meters. The move is the latest in a series of production cutbacks by the Dutch government in recent years after a study by The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute linked gas extraction to a rise in earthquakes in the northern province of Groningen, where the field is located. The tremors have damaged many homes in the area. “The safety of the people of Groningen is the most important,” said Henk Kamp, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs. “Gas production from Groningen will be reduced as far as feasible.” Discovered in 1959, the Groningen field is one of the world’s biggest natural gas reserves and is a […]
Wintershall starts production in North Sea using small-scale rig it says can extract reserves economically even from smaller fields. Photo courtesy of Wintershall. KASSEL, Germany, June 16 (UPI) — German energy company Wintershall said it started gas production in the Dutch waters of the North Sea using a platform designed for economic returns. The company said it was producing gas from an unmanned platform designated as L6-B, a small-scale facility built in nine months and towed to the location in June 2014. "The advantage of this new generation of platforms is that they can be deployed in particularly shallow waters and can economically produce even from very small natural gas fields," the company said in a statement. L6-B is positioned in a restricted military zone and Wintershall said it’s the first company permitted to work in the area. No reserve potential are expected production rates were offered. The start […]
Dutch gas fields The Groningen field lies under a 900 square-kilometre area in the northern part of the Netherlands. Gas field image via shutterstock . Reproduced on Resilience.org with permission. A report from the Dutch Safety Board has accused the oil and gas industry and Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs of willfully downplaying the risk of earthquakes caused by the rapid depletion of Europe’s largest gas field. The board’s conclusions offer lessons for other regions coping with earthquakes caused by fluid injection and hydraulic fracturing. Ever since the shale gas industry changed the seismic record of states and provinces like Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and British Columbia, many industry lobbyists and regulators have been quick to deny and dismiss citizen’s concerns about the seismic hazards. The Groningen field, which lies under a 900 square-kilometre area in the northern part of the Netherlands, has been drained by a consortium — Nederlandse […]
LONDON — An independent Dutch safety panel has found that the operators of Europe’s largest natural gas field, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, as well as the Dutch government, for years ignored the dangers posed by earthquakes in the field. That finding could add to growing pressure to reduce production at the field, in the Dutch province of Groningen, which has long been a crucial source of fuel for northern Europe and generates billions of euros in revenue annually for the Dutch government. In a report published on Wednesday, the Dutch Safety Board, a government-financed but independent organization, concluded that “the parties concerned failed to act with due care for citizen safety in Groningen” related to the earthquakes caused by gas extraction. The government had already ordered a series of cutbacks at the field, which lies under about 350 square miles of farmland and cow pastures, after residents […]
