Category: Netherlands

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 […]

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HOUSTON, Feb. 18 02/18/2015 Production from giant Groningen natural gas field in the Netherlands might be further curtailed in response to public concern about earthquakes ( OGJ, Aug. 4, 2014, p. 32 ). On Feb. 18, Dutch Economy Minister Henk Kamp said he’ll set a new cap on Groningen output on July 1 and will act sooner “if we see good reasons,” Reuters reported. The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs said in January 2014 it would lower Groningen output because of seismic activity. In December it targeted a cut to 39.4 billion cu m this year from 42.5 billion cu m in 2014. The move followed a recommendation by the State Supervision of Mines, based on data about seismic activity, that gas production be trimmed by 3.1 billion cu m this year in the southern part of the field. Kamp didn’t specify how much further output might be trimmed. […]

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Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) said third-quarter profit rose 31 percent, beating estimates, as earnings from refining and natural gas countered the impact of lower crude prices at Europe’s biggest oil company. Profit excluding one-time items and inventory changes increased to $5.8 billion from $4.5 billion a year earlier, the Hague-based company said today in a statement. That beat the $5.48 billion average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales fell 7 percent to $107.9 billion. Even as Shell’s oil production slumped and prices fell since June, a mix of better refining margins, lower spending and higher earnings from selling natural gas around the world bolstered profit. That contrasts with the company’s largest European competitors, BP Plc (BP/) and France ’s Total SA (FP) , which reported lower earnings this week. “Our results today show that we are delivering on three priorities I set out at the start […]

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AMSTERDAM (AP) — Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, reported Thursday a small fall in third quarter net profit against a backdrop of sliding oil prices, and named former DuPont Chief Executive Charles Holliday to become chairman of the board in 2015. Net profit was $4.46 billion, down 4.5 percent from $4.67 billion in the same period a year earlier. The 2014 figure includes a one-time $350 million provision for future tax liabilities in Australia. Royal Dutch Shell PLC said that when stripping out the impact of fluctuations in the price of oil, earnings rose 24 percent to $5.27 billion. That measure of earnings, called "current cost of supplies", or CCS, is favored by the industry to gauge underlying profitability of operations. "The recent decline in oil prices is part of the volatility in our industry," said Chief Executive Ben van Beurden in a statement. He said the company is […]

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Deep below the cow pastures and farming villages in this picturesque northeastern corner of the Netherlands lies an extraordinary resource: Europe’s largest source of natural gas, known as the Groningen gas field. Since its discovery in Groningen Province in 1959, the field has powered the economy of the Netherlands and has been a reliable supply of gas for Northern Europe. Five decades and counting is a remarkable run of productivity for a field of fossil fuel. But as it enters old age, Groningen has grown cranky. A half-century of extraction has reduced the field’s natural pressure in recent years, and seismic shifts from geological settling have set off increasingly frequent earthquakes — more than 120 last year, and at least 40 this year. Though most of the tremors have been small, and resulted in no reported deaths or serious injuries, they have caused widespread damage […]

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