The Netherlands will close Europe’s largest gas field at the beginning of October this year

In less than four months, the Netherlands will permanently close Europe’s largest gas field. The government is bringing forward the closure schedule, however, removing a safeguard for building up gas reserves ahead of next winter. Bloomberg reported this today, citing people familiar with the matter. The Groningen field in the northeast of the Netherlands will be closed on 1 October, they said. The cabinet will make an official decision later this month, a Dutch government spokesperson said.

The Netherlands had previously sought to close the field by October next year at the latest, depending on the geopolitical situation. But politicians faced intense pressure over the consequences of the earthquakes caused by gas production.

Since production began in 1963, the field has been a key source of gas for much of Western Europe and a pillar of Dutch public finances. But production has provoked enormous opposition from local residents, as hundreds of earthquakes since the 1980s have damaged thousands of buildings.