Hans Vijlbrief
State Secretary for the Extractive Industries (2022–2024)
State Secretary for the Extractive Industries (2022–2024\)
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Vijlbrief became State Secretary for the Extractive Industries on 10 January 2022, when the fourth Rutte cabinet was sworn in by the king. He was part of the [Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy](/wiki/Ministry_of_Economic_Affairs_and_Climate_Policy "Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy"), and he was mainly concerned with damage and problems in the [province of Groningen](/wiki/Province_of_Groningen "Province of Groningen") caused by earthquakes induced by natural gas extraction from the [Groningen field](/wiki/Groningen_gas_field "Groningen gas field"). His complete portfolio was National Mines Inspectorate, mining, gas extraction Groningen and consequences (both claims handling and reinforcement), Groningen Mining Damage Institute, National Coordinator for Groningen, and competition policy. Vijlbrief decided to work from Groningen a few days a month to connect with its citizens.

### Induced earthquakes in Groningen

The previous cabinet had promised that extraction from the Groningen field, active since 1963, would be stopped as soon as possible. However, less than a week prior to Vijlbrief's swearing in, his predecessor – Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy [Stef Blok](/wiki/Stef_Blok "Stef Blok") – had announced that the planned gas extraction in 2021/22 would be increased from  to  due to a delay in the construction of a nitrogen plant, which would allow for higher gas imports, and due to a rise in contractual deliveries to Germany. Besides, on Vijlbrief's first day in office, applications for a €220 million subsidy fund to provide €10,000 to people living inside Groningen's [seismic zone](/wiki/Seismic_zone "Seismic zone") opened, which ran out of money on that same day. Vijlbrief decided to raise the amount of money allocated to the subsidy by €250 million days later. He also told on his first day as state secretary that he would look if he could do anything about the increased gas extraction before a deadline on 1 April, and he finally announced the extraction for 2021/22 would end up being  as a result of a warm winter and a more efficient utilization of existing nitrogen plants.

The [Russian invasion of Ukraine](/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine "2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine") at the same time led to increasing natural gas prices and to European countries wanting to become less energy\-dependent on Russia. Vijlbrief clarified that the Groningen gas field would not be used to compensate except for in the most extreme of conditions. He cited a report by the National Mines Inspectorate, which stated that it would be dangerous for Groningen inhabitants due to the threat of earthquakes, but ignored another report by the Mijnraad, which stated that not preparing for additional extraction could threaten a reliable supply of gas. Vijlbrief reaffirmed that gas extraction would be lowered to the amount necessary to maintain the possibility of scaling up in October 2022 and that extraction would be halted entirely in 2023 or 2024\. The cabinet definitively decided in late September to extract  in 2022/23 – the minimum quantity. European Commissioner for Internal Market [Thierry Breton](/wiki/Thierry_Breton "Thierry Breton") unsuccessfully called on the Dutch government to reconsider its decision as a result of continuing gas supply issues on the continent.

[A parliamentary inquiry into the gas extraction](/wiki/Parliamentary_inquiry_into_natural_gas_extraction_Groningen "Parliamentary inquiry into natural gas extraction Groningen") published its report in February 2023 and concluded that profits had been prioritized over the safety of the inhabitants of Groningen. Vijlbrief declared that "the people of Groningen had been right all along". Vijlbrief had also been questioned by the committee for his roles starting as Director\-General for Energy, Telecommunications, and Markets. Vijlbrief and Prime Minister [Mark Rutte](/wiki/Mark_Rutte "Mark Rutte") visited [Garmerwolde](/wiki/Garmerwolde "Garmerwolde") in Groningen in May 2023 to apologize in response to the report. The cabinet announced €22 billion would be spent on Groningen – including €13\.5 billion in new funds – to repair damage, to reinforce buildings, and to invest in the province for a period of 30 years – the latter to pay off a debt of honor. The province had demanded €30 billion in investments alone. The cabinet announced the following month that gas extraction in Groningen would be ceased starting 1 October 2023\. Gas wells would be dismantled a year later to still allow for extraction in the meantime in case of emergency. Due to cold weather, limited gas extraction was restarted in January 2024\. Vijlbrief introduced a bill to make the wells unusable, and he threatened to resign when the [Senate](/wiki/Senate_%28Netherlands%29 "Senate (Netherlands)") voted to postpone its treatment. The bill was passed in April 2024\.

To make homes [earthquake\-resistant](/wiki/Earthquake-resistant "Earthquake-resistant"), Vijlbrief gave the go\-ahead in 2022 for an operation to systematically strengthen all structures in the villages of [Garrelsweer](/wiki/Garrelsweer "Garrelsweer"), [Zeerijp](/wiki/Zeerijp "Zeerijp"), [Wirdum](/wiki/Wirdum%2C_Groningen "Wirdum, Groningen"), and [Leermens](/wiki/Leermens "Leermens"). In June of that year, he decided to take legal action against the NAM for not paying €190 million it owed in earthquake damage compensation. The government had billed the NAM €560 million in total since 2020, but the NAM had doubts about the justification for part of that figure.

### End of fourth Rutte cabinet

The fourth Rutte cabinet collapsed on 7 July 2023 due to disagreements over asylum reforms and continued as a [caretaker government](/wiki/Caretaker_government "Caretaker government"). Shortly after, Vijlbrief was appointed chair of the committee tasked with writing D66's [program](/wiki/Election_program "Election program") for the [general election to be held in November 2023](/wiki/2023_Dutch_general_election "2023 Dutch general election"). He decided to run for the House of Representatives despite having before mentioned he would retire. Vijlbrief's term as state secretary ended on 2 July 2024, when the [Schoof cabinet](/wiki/Schoof_cabinet "Schoof cabinet") was sworn in.


What was the controversy surrounding gas extraction in Groningen?