THE HAGUE, August 31. /TASS/. Natural gas reserves in the Netherlands will be completely depleted in less than nine years if production continues at its current level, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) warned.

According to the CBS, last year the Netherlands produced a total of 16.1 billion cubic meters of gas from various fields. In turn, the total explored reserves are currently estimated at 142 billion cubic meters. "The remaining reserves are in smaller gas fields on land and under the North Sea," CBS says.

This figure does not include the Groningen field, which is the largest in the Netherlands. Gas production there started in 1963 and at its peak in 2013 it exceeded 50 billion cubic meters of gas. However, the government decided to completely stop its development due to earthquakes caused by gas production. In 2022, production at the field totaled just over 2 billion cubic meters of gas. In 2023, gas production there will be stopped, and in 2024 it should be completely closed.

At least 127,000 of the region's 327,000 homes were damaged by earthquakes, according to the Groningen Institute, which assesses damage from mining operations. The government previously approved a plan to compensate local residents affected by man-made earthquakes. The total amount of compensation will be 22 billion euros over the next 30 years.