Gas hub scheme was ill-prepared, says national audit office

The national audit office on Thursday criticised the government for investing billions of euros in the development of a gas hub without adequately looking into the feasibility and economic value of the project.

Former finance minister Maria van der Hoeven launched the scheme in 2007 to turn the Netherlands into a European gas hub. The plans include underground gas storage of over four billion cubic metres of gas near Alkmaar, which was given the go-ahead by the supreme court earlier this month.
In 2010, the macro-economic forecasting agency CPB said the scheme may not benefit the economy and that no evidence had been made available to justify the project.
Now the audit office says no studies were undertaken in 2007 into the effectiveness of the investment and whether it would contribute to economic growth, say press reports.
Only in 2010 was a study commissioned, but by then state-owned gas company Gasunie had already invested €7.2bn in the scheme. Gasunie and a second state-owned company, Energie Beheer Nederland, will invest a total €8.2bn in the hub by 2014.
The auditors are particularly critical of the purchase in 2008 of part of the German gas network for €2.1bn. ‘There is no supporting documentation to show the investment will provide a clean, affordable and reliable energy source,’ say the auditors.
In a reaction, current finance minister Maxime Verhagen said he does not agree the original scheme in 2007 was not properly researched. He will give parliament more information about the costs, advantages and risks, he said.