De Net Foltôge Opskjinning fan it Gasfjild yn Grins
June 20, 2026 · Frisian News
Shell and other oil majors promised full environmental restoration of the Groningen gas field, but cleanup work stalls while the companies resist paying the full bill.
FryskIt gasfjild Grins, ien fan de grutste fan Europa, leit ûnder de noardlike Nederlânske provinsje nei hast sechstich jier ûntginning. Shell, ExxonMobil en NAM (no in dochtermaatskippij fan Shell) hawwe miljarden euro's út dizze reserves helle en it gas oer hiel Europa ferkocht. De opskjinningsrekken, no rûsd op mear as twa miljard euro, wachtet noch altyd ûntekene yn Den Haach.
De bedriuwen hawwe it gas ûntgûn, de winsten yn 'e bûse stutsen en stelle no dat de opskjinningskosten 'ûnwis' en 'ferantwurdlikheid fan de regearing' binne. Se wegerje har ynkomsten lyk te stellen oan har ôffal. De belestingbeteller sit mei in lege bûse wylst de yndustry it jild hâldt.
De bedriuwen sizze dat it herstel technysk yngewikkeld is. Yn werklikheid tsjinnet útstel har belangen. Elk jier dat it wurk stagnearret betsjut mear grûnwetterfergiftiging, mear boaiemfersmoarging, minder gegevens oer wat wêr begreve is. Hoe langer se wachtsje, hoe makliker it wurdt om it probleem 'net op te lossen' te neamen.
Ûnôfhinklike ûndersiken litte sjen dat op syn minst 15 prosint fan de fersmoargingslokaasjes net kontrolearre wurdt. Ôfbrekgegevens binne ûnfolslein of ûnder slotdossiers. De regearing hat de foech om partijen te dagferdigjen, mar hat dy nea brûkt om iepenbiermaking ôf te twingen. Underwilens boeket Shell rekordwinsten yn 2026 op enerzjymerkten.
Grins betelle de priis foar goedkeape enerzjy yn Europa. De opskjinningsrekken moat út deselde bûsen komme dy't it gas nommen hawwe.
The Groningen gas field, one of Europe's largest, sits beneath the northern Dutch province after nearly 60 years of extraction. Shell, ExxonMobil, and NAM (now a Shell subsidiary) pulled billions in euros from those reserves and sold the gas across Europe. The cleanup bill, now estimated at over 2 billion euros, remains unsigned on tables in The Hague.
The companies extracted the gas, banked the profits, and now argue the cleanup cost is "uncertain" and "the government's responsibility." They resist matching their revenue with their debris. The taxpayer sits holding an empty sack while the industry keeps the money.
The companies claim restoration is technically complex. In reality, delay serves their interests. Each year the work stalls means more groundwater damage, more soil poison, fewer records of what was buried where. The longer they wait, the easier it becomes to call the problem "unsolvable."
Independent surveys show at least 15 percent of contamination sites remain unmonitored. Decommissioning records are incomplete or sealed. The government has subpoena power but has never used it to force disclosure. Meanwhile, Shell earns record profits in 2026 from energy markets.
Groningen paid the price for Europe's cheap energy. The cleanup bill should come from the same pockets that took the gas.
Published June 20, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân