Groningen

Shell’s Groningen Hangover: Dutch State and NAM Clash Over a €789 Million Earthquake Bill

Mar 17th, 2026
by admin.
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If you ever needed a case study in how fossil fuel profits can turn into long-term liabilities, look no further than Groningen — where the bill for decades of gas extraction has finally landed… and nobody wants to pay it.

This week, the Dutch state and Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) — the Shell-Exxon joint venture that once turned Groningen into Europe’s gas powerhouse — faced off in court over who should cover hundreds of millions of euros in earthquake damage compensation.

The sum in dispute? A modest €789 million. Pocket change for an oil major — until it isn’t. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell and the Shaking Ground: How a Fossil Fuel Empire Helped Create Earthquakes, Trauma, and a Generation of Unsettled Lives

Nov 7th, 2025
by John Donovan.
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Once upon a time — and not very long ago — certain corporate and government voices insisted that earthquakes in places without natural fault lines simply couldn’t happen. The Netherlands was solid. Groningen was safe. The ground beneath families, schools, and lives was reliable. Except it turns out none of that was true — because some earthquakes can be manufactured, engineered, or to put it bluntly, provoked.

And the culprit was not tectonics.

It was extraction.

Extraction at scale.

Extraction for profit. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell Dodges Justice—Again: Groningen Quakes Leave Cracks in Homes, Trust, and the Law

Oct 8th, 2025
by John Donovan.
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Another Earthquake, Another Escape Clause

In a move that shocked precisely no one familiar with the Dutch gas saga, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) announced that NAM — the joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobil — will not be prosecuted for creating “life-threatening danger” in the Groningen gas field, despite years of earthquakes, crumbling houses, and shattered nerves.

👉 Read the NL Times coverage

The OM admitted that NAM had “consciously accepted the risk” that drilling would cause earthquakes and endanger residents — but claimed that wasn’t enough to secure a criminal conviction. In plain English: Yes, they knew people could be hurt. No, that’s not a crime. Next question. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Thousands of Groningen gas opponents demand earthquake damage compensation

Jan 16th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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NL TIMES

Thousands of Groningen gas opponents demand earthquake damage compensation

SUNDAY, JANUARY 16, 2022

An estimated eight to ten thousand people in Groningen took part in a torchlight procession against gas extraction in the province. The municipality was satisfied with the protest, which drew attention to the people living in the earthquake area.

The protest was organized in response to the Cabinet’s decision to double gas production. Protesters were also upset at the poor organization of subsidies for homeowners to strengthen their homes and make them more sustainable. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Question-mark over NAM Groningen Earthquake Damage Guarantees

Jul 3rd, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch Financial Times, Financieele Dagblad. NAM is the Shell/Exxon Joint Venture company responsible for the earthquake blighted Groningen Gas Field and consequential potential bill for untold billions to deal with damaged residences.

Nijboer wants reaction from cabinet to NAM guarantees

Carel Grol • Entrepreneurship

Member of Parliament Henk Nijboer (PvdA) wants a response from the government to the message in the FD that Shell and ExxonMobil offer limited security with the NAM agreement. Lawyer and professor Steef Bartman of Leiden University wrote in an opinion piece in this newspaper on Monday, in which he wondered whether NAM can fulfill its obligation to damage and strengthen at any time.

A week ago Minister Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs concluded a deal with Shell and ExxonMobil. The oil companies said they stood surety for ‘Groningen’. However, a number of provisions leave room for Shell and ExxonMobil to renegotiate in the future the guarantees issued and the financial distribution of gas revenues. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

False impression given over Shell/Exxon Groningen deal with Dutch Government?

Jun 27th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch Financial Times, Financieele Dagblad. NAM is the Shell/Exxon Joint Venture company responsible for the earthquake blighted Groningen Gas Field and consequential potential bill for untold billions to deal with damaged residences.

Shell and Exxon pay much less to Groningen funds

Ulko Jonker, Carel Grol • Economics & Politics

The State pays almost 90% of the € 1 billion fund for Groningen and the oil companies Shell and ExxonMobil only pay € 135 million on balance. This is confirmed by the Ministry of Finance, after questions from the FD. At the presentation of the deal between the State on the one hand and Shell and Exxon on the other, about the end of the gas production in Groningen, the impression was still created that each accounted for half.

On Monday, the agreement was signed between the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Shell and ExxonMobil, each with a 50% stake in NAM. They will refrain from claims against the State, and would deposit € 500 million into a fund for Groningen. That was the result of ‘tough negotiations’, as Rolf de Jong, CEO of ExxonMobil Benelux put it. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Dutch gas field to keep producing as earth tremor risk is studied

Feb 15th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Several politicians… have called for an urgent review of gas extraction in Groningen province following earth tremors in recent weeks of up to 3.2 magnitude, which caused cracks in some buildings. The huge gas field near Slochteren in the north of the country has recoverable gas reserves of around 2.7 trillion cubic metres and is operated by Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV (NAM), which is jointly owned by Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil.

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AMSTERDAM | Thu Feb 14, 2013 1:28pm EST

Feb 14 (Reuters) – The Netherlands will maintain current output levels at one of the world’s largest gas fields while scientists study whether the operations risk causing more severe earth tremors than they have already, a minister said.

“If I cut production, then the effect will be felt in the Netherlands,” the minister for economic affairs, Henk Kamp, told a parliamentary commission on Thursday, referring to the economic consequences of a reduction in gas output. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.