Shell-Exxon Dutch JV Pays for New Homes
Dutch producer NAM, the Shell-ExxonMobil joint venture that operates the giant Groningen field, has now paid out €186mn ($210mn) under the New Building Regulation to help build earthquake-resistant buildings, it said April 18.
The field is due to stop production completely before more damage is done and the operator's ouput reduction is to proceed ahead of the government's own timetable.
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The New Building Regulation has been in existence for five years, as has the Value Regulation,whereby NAM covers the difference between the lower selling price of property and what the same property could have fetched on the market, if there were no fears of loss of structural integrity caused by gas production from the field.
The New Building Regulation has contributed to nearly 6,000 earthquake-resistant new-build homes and 185,000 m² of non-residential buildings such as schools.
The NAM Value Scheme compensates for the lower selling price of homes sold due to earthquake risks in the municipalities of Appingedam, Bedum, Delfzijl, De Marne, Eemsmond, Hoogezand-Sappemeer, Loppersum, Menterwolde, Slochteren, Winsum and the former municipality of Ten Boer. More than 5,100 people have made use of the Value Regulation. 4,800 homes have now been valued. NAM has made over 4,100 of them an offer, 95% of which have accepted the offer.
An account of the recent history of the Groningen field, its gas output and the Dutch government's decision to close it down, may be read here.