The Minister for Economic Affairs of the Netherlands was “unpleasantly surprised” by Germany.
(Photo: imago images / ANP)
Berlin Germany is currently trying hard to improve its gas supply situation. In December, German long-distance gas network operators, in consultation with the Federal Ministry of Economics and the Federal Network Agency, asked their Dutch colleagues for higher delivery quantities for the current and future winter.
That, in turn, had astonished the government in The Hague at the time. In a letter from the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Stef Blok at the time to his colleague Robert Habeck (Greens) on December 27, 2021, it is unusually undiplomatic that the request from Germany is perceived as an “unpleasant surprise”. Blok is no longer a member of the new government that was sworn in this Monday. Until further notice, however, his letter is in government position.
An increase in deliveries to Germany “poses a risk to Dutch security of supply” and could spark significant debates in the Netherlands, Blok wrote in the letter. “As you can imagine, it would be difficult to explain any increase in production in the Groningen gas field to the citizens of Groningen,” it says there.
The Netherlands is Germany’s third largest supplier of natural gas after Russia and Norway. The gas field in Groningen is the largest in Europe. Millions of households in the north and west of Germany have been supplied with gas from Groningen for decades. However, as early as 2018, the previous Dutch cabinet decided to initially sharply reduce funding and completely stop it in mid-2022. The reason for this are several earthquakes that had caused considerable damage in the region.
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The exit took place in coordination with the partners in Germany. Companies like EWE in Oldenburg have been preparing for years that they will no longer receive Dutch gas. This also involves technical changes. Because the gas from the neighboring country (“L-gas”) has a lower energy content than natural gas from Russia or Norway (“H-gas”).
In his letter, the ex-economics minister also accused Germany of “that the German L-gas storage facilities were not completely filled in the last feed-in period.” That made the matter even more difficult beyond the request. “Compensating for this in an ongoing gas year will in all likelihood be seen by the media, citizens and politicians as a measure at the expense of the Dutch security of supply and the security of the people of Groningen,” wrote Blok.
Traffic light coalition blocks gas production in the North Sea
What increased the Dutchman’s displeasure: German authorities are blocking the Dutch’s plans to develop a new gas field in the North Sea that also extends to German territorial waters.
The Ampel coalitionists have even made this topic the subject of their coalition agreement. There it says in the chapter on marine protection: “We do not want to issue any new permits for oil and gas wells beyond the framework operating permits granted for the German North and Baltic Seas.”
The sentence is a rejection of the project in the North Sea in the German-Dutch border area, which is being promoted by the Dutch company One-Dyas. The Dutch perceive the passage in the coalition agreement as an affront.
Blok wrote that it would be “difficult to explain and defend” for him to increase gas production in Groningen, while Germany was speaking out against gas production in the North Sea. The increase in production in the Groninger field is “our last reserve”, which can only be used if absolutely no other option is available. Against this background, he would like Minister of Economic Affairs Habeck to provide formal notification of the increased German gas demand and information about the risks to security of supply.
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