The state watchdog for mines (SodM) also warns against opening the gas tap in Groningen, according to reports RTV North† Gas extraction continues to pose a safety risk, and extraction of 12 billion cubic meters is no longer a safe level.

In February 2018, the regulator called this a safe level of gas extraction. Various media suggested that this amount could be recovered to compensate for the loss of Russian gas.

Boost not ready

But four years later, the situation is different, SodM says. The advice given four years ago was based in part on the assumption that the consolidation process would be completed in the foreseeable future.

“It’s a long way off: the majority of the boosting job remains to be done,” SODM now says. “As gas extraction continues, even at this lower level, earthquake risks will increase again.”

There is still a chance of houses collapsing

SodM stresses that the phase-out of gas extraction in Groningen remains essential to safety. There are still over 13,000 titles in need of reinforcement. According to the organizer, this means that there is still a high chance that homes will collapse in a major earthquake, causing residents to be injured and even killed if they do not get out of their homes in time.

The extraction of gas led to earthquakes and damage to homes in the area. NOS on 3 explains why those earthquakes appear in this video: