Court decision against SHELL/EXXON (NAM) in earthquake damage claims

English translation of a news brief issued 25 Jan 2018 by NAM, the Dutch Gas company owned jointly by Shell and Exxon. 

Hof van Leeuwarden rejects NAM appeal

The Court in Leeuwarden dismissed NAM’s appeal in the WAG case on Tuesday, January 23, about compensating for houses and buildings in Groningen that have fallen in value as a result of earthquakes.

NAM appealed against the judgment of the District Court in Assen on 2 September 2015. “The question raised in this appeal was not whether value reduction as a result of earthquakes should be compensated by us, but at what time and how this should be done “, explained NAM director Thijs Jurgens of the Groningen Earthquake team. “The court rules otherwise and we are going to take that seriously.”

Value control

With the Value Scheme, NAM compensates for the decline in value of the sale of a house since January 2013. From the start of the scheme, 94% of the proposals for compensation for the decrease in value of NAM have been accepted.

View the facts and figures about this valuation on NAM.nl

Personally in conversation about gas extraction Hardenberg

NAM submitted an update of the Winningsplan for four of the eight gas fields in Hardenberg at the end of 2017. Due to recent reports in the local media, many questions were asked in Hardenberg about current gas extraction. Many people expressed their concerns about the possible consequences of extraction in Hardenberg.

NAM Infotruck

Residents of the region with questions about gas extraction and the possible consequences of this are welcome in two weeks on the NAM Information Truck in Hardenberg and a number of surrounding villages. The blue truck will be present at the center of Hardenberg on Tuesday 6 February 2018 and Thursday 8 February 2018.

Small gas fields

NAM wins gas in 220 small gas fields in the Netherlands, including at Hardenberg. All small fields together contribute significantly to the Dutch energy supply. For almost 70 years, NAM has been licensed to extract gas in the municipality of Hardenberg. The risk of earthquakes due to gas extraction is low here.
 
Read more about the importance of the small gas fields on NAM.nl or watch the animation about this. You will also find more information on gas production in Hardenberg on our website.

NAMers in the news

In the first turbulent weeks of 2018, much attention was paid to national and regional media for NAM. Our employees were regularly in the news in recent weeks. Below an overview.
 
January 14

NRC Handelsblad spoke, before the earthquake in Zeerijp, with two NAM fathers and sons (see photo – Kees van de Veen) about the differences between work for NAM in the past and now.
 
January 19th

Prior to the torch relay in Groningen, colleague Kor Niehof is a guest at Radio Noord. The born Groninger has been working at NAM for 17 years, but no longer shouts from the rooftops at parties and birthdays. ‘Then I say that I work for a company that is not so positive in the news right now.’
 
January 20th

In an article in NRC Handelsblad, the question is asked whether slow gas extraction from the Groningen gas field can prevent heavy earthquakes. NAM research leader Jan van Elk is also interviewed in that document.
 
In the radio program Hemmeltied by RTV Drenthe, Henriet Jager and former colleague Bertus Hilberts are invited to talk about the relationship between NAM and Schoonebeek, where oil has been extracted for over 70 years. Hilberts: “Schoonebeek has gotten rid of oil by the extraction of oil.”

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