# Wadden Sea gas drilling stays within safe subsidence limit

> State secretary De Bat says land subsidence from gas extraction under the Wadden Sea is within the agreed safe limit and needs no extra measures, though an audit committee notes the limits are getting closer.

Climate · published 2026-11-12 05:43 · https://nlnow.nl/a/gas-drilling-under-wadden-sea-stays-within-subsidence-limit/

Land subsidence from gas extraction under the Wadden Sea has stayed within the safe limit, State Secretary De Bat of Economic Affairs and Climate told the Tweede Kamer in answers to parliamentary questions on 11 November. She sees no reason for additional measures. The figures come from a report by NAM, the gas producer, on its fields at Moddergat, Lauwersoog and Vierhuizen.

The limits are set with the agreed hand-aan-de-kraan (hand on the tap) method. De Bat says that as long as the operating margin under this method is not exceeded, there is no cause for further action.

**Subsidence and sea level rise stay below the growth limit in Zoutkamperlaag** (mm per year; source: State Secretary De Bat, answers to parliamentary questions)

- Gas-extraction subsidence: 0.68
- Sea level rise (policy scenario): 3.65
- Subsidence plus sea level rise: 4.33
- Minimum growth capacity: 5

In the Zoutkamperlaag tidal basin, gas extraction causes 0.68 mm of subsidence a year. With sea level rise of 3.65 mm a year under the policy scenario, the total is 4.33 mm a year. The minimum rate at which the basin builds up sediment, its growth capacity, is set at 5 mm a year.

The average rise in high water at Lauwersoog over 2007–2025 is 4.3 mm a year. That figure also includes natural land subsidence from isostasy and subsidence from gas extraction. Minus the 0.68 mm gas load, it comes to 3.62 mm a year, close to the 3.65 mm in the policy scenario, De Bat said.

The audit committee on Wadden Sea gas extraction (Auditcommissie Gaswinning Waddenzee) backs NAM's conclusion for monitoring year 2025. It notes, however, that the agreed limits are getting closer, and recommends examining whether this affects the phasing out of gas extraction. De Bat is asking NAM to take the advice into account when it evaluates the 2020–2026 monitoring programme and drafts a new one from 2027.

On the Lauwersmeer, the monitoring report's public summary and integrated assessment conclude that numbers of protected breeding birds are closely tied to local developments. These include widely fluctuating water levels, high water caused by weather, management, grazing and predation. De Bat says she will soon inform the Tweede Kamer about monitoring year 2025.

## Background

- **NAM (Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij)**: The Dutch Petroleum Company is an oil and gas producer that explores for and extracts natural gas and oil in the Netherlands, including gas fields in the north of the country and under the Wadden Sea. It is the operator of these fields, which means it runs the drilling and extraction work under government permits. Its activities are closely watched because gas extraction can cause land subsidence and earthquakes in the surrounding area.
- **hand-aan-de-kraan**: Hand-on-the-tap is a Dutch method for managing gas extraction by adjusting production based on measured effects, such as land subsidence, so that these stay within agreed limits. Under this approach, the amount of gas that may be produced is set by a "usage space" (gebruiksruimte) defined by those limits. As long as extraction stays within that usage space, no further measures are needed.

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