Earthquake hits northern Groningen, shaking homes

An earthquake struck northern Groningen shortly after midnight on Thursday, with a magnitude of 2.2 on the Richter scale.

The epicentre was located in Usquert, between the now-closed Groningen gas mining site and Warffum, where gas extraction is still ongoing. No injuries were reported and as yet it is unclear if any buildings have been damaged.

Residents reported feeling significant tremors. Anjo de Haan from Warffum told RTV Noord, “The quake woke me up. There was a dull, hard knock, and the windows and doors shook.”

Quakes have been common in the region as the ground settles in the wake of natural gas extraction. Over 1,600 have been recorded since the 1980s, damaging 85,000 buildings.

A major turning point came in 2012 when a 3.6-magnitude earthquake struck the village of Huizinge.

Although the main Groningen gas field was shut down last year, smaller gas fields remain active, and the government is considering increasing extraction in the Warffum region.

Since the Slochteren gas field began operations in 1963, the Dutch state has earned €360 billion from gas extraction, while Shell and ExxonMobil, co-owners of NAM, have shared an additional €66 billion in profits.

In 2023, a parliamentary commission concluded that the interests of Groningen’s residents had been systematically neglected by both the government and energy companies.

Last year, the government pledged to invest €22 billion over the next 30 years in compensation measures.