According to the company’s website news release on January 31, 2023, Gasunie Transport Services (GTS) has the statutory task of advising the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate annually on the needed Groningen production for security of supply. In a letter sent today to State Secretary Vijlbrief, GTS advises to keep the Groningen field on the pilot flame for the coming gas year 2023-2024 and not to close it yet definitively. The pilot flame or minimum flow level of the Groningen field means a gas production of 3,2 billion cubic meter per year (31 TWh).
The final closure of the Groningen field remains the aim, but the complete cessation of Russian gas import and the uncertainty on the international gas and energy markets unfortunately mean that various scenarios are conceivable in which security of supply in the Netherlands cannot be sufficient guaranteed next winter without the back-up availability of the Groningen field. The current geopolitical situation makes the final closure of the field in October 2023 risky from the point of view of supply. This is a setback for all involved.
The letter to State Secretary Vijlbrief with the fill analysis of the situation on the gas and energy market and the consequences for security of supply can be read here (in Dutch).
