Groningen Gas Drilling Resumes Despite Opposition and Legal Challenges

The Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) began preparatory work on Monday to resume gas extraction at Warffum in Groningen, after the well sat idle for more than a year. The restart requires cleaning work before production can begin, and is expected to take around three weeks.

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Why the well stopped and what needs fixing

The gas extraction at the Warffum site had been temporarily halted. When NAM attempted to restart the well, it found that water and sand had accumulated at the bottom of the shaft during the long period of inactivity. The well must first be cleaned before extraction can resume.

A spokesperson for NAM said the interruption means the wells have filled with water, requiring urgent repair work. A long flexible pipe is being used to pump the wells clear, a process that is expected to take around three weeks and incurs additional costs.

The legal and political history

The Warffum permit has been contested at multiple stages. The cabinet gave NAM permission in 2024 to drill at the smaller Warffum field for a further eight years. That decision caused significant controversy because the village of Warffum has repeatedly been affected by earthquakes and structural damage linked to extraction from the much larger Groningen gas field.

The Groningen provincial government and the local residents' association Dorpsbelangen Warffum asked the Council of State to suspend the permit while a final ruling was awaited. In February 2026, the highest administrative court rejected that request for the second time, ruling that NAM's interest in resuming extraction still outweighed the concerns about public unease and feelings of insecurity among residents.

The court found it plausible that gas extraction from Warffum is necessary to keep the Grijpskerk processing facility operational and to support general gas supply security. It also noted that the longer the well remains idle, the harder it will become to restart it.

The wider context

Warffum is a small field and is distinct from the main Groningen gas field, which was formally closed after decades of extraction caused thousands of earthquakes and extensive damage to homes and buildings. A NAM spokesperson said that every cubic metre of gas produced domestically reduces the need for imports. "It is no certainty that it will succeed. But every cubic metre of gas we produce in the Netherlands is one we do not have to import."

The debate over domestic gas production has intensified in the context of the current energy situation. There have also been separate political proposals to designate the main Groningen field as a strategic emergency reserve, but NAM has said it would not want to operate such a facility and believes the state would have to take over that role itself.