ACM takes extra measures for filling the underground gas storage Grijpskerk
Summary
- Dutch energy company NAM must offer open access to the underground gas storage Grijpskerk, and cannot demand from customers to financially contribute to the settlement of earthquake damages.
- Open access is important to ensure that natural-gas storages can be filled for the next winter period.
- That is why ACM has supplemented the binding course of conduct it had previously imposed on NAM.
Dutch energy company Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) cannot demand from companies that wish to use the underground gas storage Grijpskerk to financially contribute to the settlement of earthquake damages under the Temporary Act Groningen (in Dutch: Tijdelijke wet Groningen). That is why the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has supplemented the binding course of conduct it had previously imposed on NAM. With this decision, ACM has taken additional measures to ensure that companies have open access to the underground gas storage Grijpskerk, so that it can be filled for the next winter period.
In February 2026, ACM imposed a binding course of conduct on NAM to ensure that market participants are able to gain access to the underground gas storages Norg and Grijpskerk. Dutch public energy company Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) has gained access to the natural-gas storage in Norg, which is currently being filled. However, the natural-gas storage in Grijpskerk is not yet being filled. NAM has set an additional condition for access to the natural-gas storage in Grijpskerk, requiring companies that use this storage to financially contribute to future earthquake damages in the area. In the supplement to the binding course of conduct, ACM has established that this is an unreasonable condition, because NAM is liable for earthquake damages in the area.
The underground gas storages Norg and Grijpskerk are owned by NAM, and, until this year, were filled by Dutch natural-gas trading company GasTerra. GasTerra traded the natural gas that was extracted by NAM from the Groningen field in the north of the Netherlands. With the closure of the natural-gas field in Groningen, GasTerra will cease operations in late 2026. This means that the natural-gas storages in Norg and Grijpskerk will no longer be filled by GasTerra. The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) must ensure that sufficient natural gas is available. That is why EZK has taken measures for ensuring that the natural-gas storages in Norg and Grijpskerk continue to be filled over the next few years. Under European legislation, the Netherlands is required to have the underground gas storages filled for at least 74 percent before the upcoming heating season.