Earthquakes in Groningen: Organized Suppression of a Creeping Crisis

Abstract

Natural earthquakes do not occur in the northern part of the Netherlands. Yet, small earthquakes have regularly struck the area since the 1980s. For a long time, it was denied that these earthquakes were caused by the extraction of gas in the area and that these earthquakes could cause any damage. When more, and more severe, earthquakes struck the province of Groningen, these claims became unsustainable. In 2012, a relatively strong earthquake hit the area and the earthquakes became a national policy issue that threatened the legitimacy of the state. The crisis lingered on until 2018 when the national government finally realized that prolonged extraction would cause a deep crisis and decided to terminate the extraction of gas well before the depletion of the field. We argue that this visible and enduring crisis was not recognized and sufficiently addressed because of a societal dependency on the extraction of gas. The crisis was actively suppressed by the main actors, which ultimately undermined the legitimacy of the gas production and the state.