The Dutch government is planning to close the Groningen gasfield, Europe’s largest, in October this year due to safety concerns.

The field is in an onshore earthquake-prone area near the German border to the north-east of the Netherlands, and has experienced more than 100 tremors annually since the 1980s (the strongest a 3.6 magnitude event), resulting in 160,000 claims for damaged property. Opened in 1963, the field had a peak in production in the 2010s of 50 billion cubic metres annually, but is now only producing a fraction of its capacity due to the safety concerns.

Before a final decision is made on closure, the Dutch government will determine how European gas stocks are after the northern hemisphere winter – should they be particularly low, the Groningen field may operate into 2024.