荷兰政府用水泥永久封堵格罗宁根气田

为防止未来政府重新考虑恢复开采的决定，荷兰政府正在用水泥永久封堵格罗宁根省已停产的天然气井 1。D66部长Hans Vijlbrief决定用500米水泥封堵气井 1。目前已封堵300口井中的70口 1。

格罗宁根气田于1959年被发现，曾是欧洲最大气田 1。60年间，该气田开采了2.2万亿立方米天然气，为荷兰国库贡献3630亿欧元 1。1986年起，该地区开始经历因开采引发的小地震，导致当地居民反对，政府最终选择妥协 1。2018年，荷兰内阁承诺2030年前结束天然气生产，并于2019年将截止日期提前至2023年 1。2023年，议会委员会报告宣布荷兰政府对格罗宁根人民负有“荣誉债务” 1。

该气田剩余储量约5000亿立方米，按当前批发价价值约2000亿欧元 1。格罗宁根气田剩余天然气量是欧盟自2022年乌克兰战争以来从俄罗斯进口量的两倍 1。然而，此举遭到矿业委员会和政府首席科学顾问的反对，他们认为封存而非封堵能保留更大灵活性 1。

The Dutch government is permanently plugging decommissioned natural gas wells in the Groningen province with cement to prevent any future administration from reconsidering the resumption of extraction 1. Minister Hans Vijlbrief of the D66 party has decided to seal the wells using 500 meters of cement 1. So far, 70 out of the 300 wells have been plugged 1.

Discovered in 1959, the Groningen field was once the largest gas field in Europe 1. Over a period of 60 years, it produced 2.2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, contributing 363 billion euros to the national treasury 1. However, the region has experienced minor earthquakes caused by the extraction since 1986, which led to local opposition and ultimately forced the government to compromise 1. The Dutch cabinet initially pledged in 2018 to end gas production by 2030, but advanced this deadline to 2023 in 2019 1. Furthermore, a 2023 parliamentary committee report declared that the Dutch government owes a "debt of honor" to the people of Groningen 1.

Despite the cessation of production, the field still holds estimated remaining reserves of about 500 billion cubic meters, valued at approximately 200 billion euros at current wholesale prices 1. This remaining volume is twice the amount of natural gas the European Union has imported from Russia since the war in Ukraine began in 2022 1. Nevertheless, the decision to permanently plug the wells with cement has faced opposition from the Mining Council and the government's chief scientific advisor 1. They argue that sealing the wells, rather than permanently plugging them, would preserve greater flexibility for the future 1.