The Netherlands once stood at the centre of Europe’s natural gas industry because of the Groningen field. Today, its position is defined by a different reality. Groningen is closed, domestic output is declining, and the country increasingly depends on imported pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas. Yet the Netherlands remains one of Europe’s most important gas markets because of its ports, storage sites, pipeline links and trading infrastructure.
This creates an unusual national profile. The Netherlands is no longer the large producer that shaped household heating and industrial development across northwestern Europe, but it has not become a minor gas market. Instead, it is changing from a production centre into a supply, conversion and transit hub. Natural gas still supports homes, power generation, horticulture and energy-intensive industry, while the same network is gradually being prepared for biomethane, hydrogen and carbon-management projects.
Groningen’s Closure Ended an Era of Dutch Gas Production
The Groningen gas field transformed the Dutch economy after production began in the 1960s. It supplied low-calorific gas to households and businesses, supported exports to neighbouring countries and generated substantial public revenue. The field also shaped the national pipeline network, appliance standards and gas market for several generations.
Its decline was not caused only by depletion. Extraction produced earthquakes that damaged homes and created a long political and legal conflict over safety, compensation and responsibility in Groningen province. The government progressively reduced output before regular production stopped in 2023 and the field was permanently closed in 2024.
Closure changed the Dutch gas balance immediately. Domestic extraction fell by 17 percent in 2024, a reduction of 1.9 billion cubic metres. The Netherlands still produces gas from smaller fields on land and in the North Sea, but none can replace Groningen’s former scale or its ability to respond quickly during periods of peak winter demand.
The shutdown also required a technical transformation. Groningen produced low-calorific gas, while most imported gas is high-calorific. The Dutch system therefore uses nitrogen and quality-conversion facilities to make imported gas suitable for consumers whose equipment was designed around Groningen gas. Storage sites such as Norg, Grijpskerk and Bergermeer also have a larger security role now that Groningen can no longer provide emergency output.
LNG Has Become Central to Dutch Energy Security
The loss of Groningen production and the sharp reduction in Russian pipeline supply pushed the Netherlands toward a more import-dependent model. Norway remains an important source of pipeline gas, while LNG has become a major part of the supply mix.
The Gate terminal in Rotterdam is the country’s established large-scale LNG facility. The EemsEnergyTerminal at Eemshaven was developed rapidly in 2022 as Europe searched for alternatives to Russian gas. Together, they allow the Netherlands to receive cargoes from several producing regions and send regasified supply into the Dutch and wider northwestern European network.
The United States has become particularly important. In 2024, the Netherlands imported more than 21 billion cubic metres of LNG, including 14.4 billion cubic metres from the United States. US cargoes represented about 68 percent of Dutch LNG imports that year. This dependence is different from the earlier Groningen model: supply is now more exposed to global LNG prices, shipping availability, Asian demand and disruptions in international trade.
Import capacity continues to expand. Gate terminal is adding a fourth storage tank and additional regasification capacity, strengthening Rotterdam’s role in European supply. The longer-term operation of Eemshaven is also important. Dutch transmission operator GTS expects sufficient gas for the 2026–2027 gas year, including during a cold year, but that assessment depends partly on the Eemshaven terminal remaining available beyond 2027.
Smaller Dutch Gas Fields Still Have a Strategic Role
The closure of Groningen did not end extraction in the Netherlands. Smaller fields remain active onshore and offshore, especially in the Dutch North Sea. Their production is far below historical levels, but it can reduce import requirements and make use of existing platforms, pipelines and specialist expertise.
Supporters of continued North Sea production argue that locally produced gas can have a lower transport footprint than imported LNG and can strengthen energy security during the transition. Domestic output also preserves offshore capabilities that may later be used for carbon storage, hydrogen or decommissioning.
The limits are clear. Many fields are mature, discoveries are smaller, project costs are rising and production has followed a long decline. New development also faces environmental scrutiny and a difficult investment horizon because Dutch and European policy is aimed at reducing fossil-fuel use. The government has ruled out renewed Groningen production, and resistance is strong around sensitive areas such as the Wadden Sea.
Dutch policy therefore has two goals that do not always fit easily together: reduce demand and emissions over time, while maintaining enough domestic production, import capacity and storage to avoid shortages before alternatives are ready.
Natural Gas Remains Embedded in the Dutch Economy
Natural gas demand has fallen from earlier levels, but the fuel remains closely connected to the economy. Many homes still use gas for heating and hot water. Greenhouse horticulture uses it for heat, electricity and carbon dioxide. Refineries, chemical plants, food processors and other industrial users depend on reliable supply, while gas-fired power stations provide flexible electricity when wind and solar generation are lower.
Dutch gas consumption was broadly unchanged in 2024 after significant reductions during the European energy-price crisis. This suggests that further decline will depend more heavily on building insulation, heat pumps, district heating, industrial electrification, energy efficiency and changes in production.
Gas also has a balancing role in the electricity system. The Netherlands has expanded offshore wind and solar power, but renewable output changes with weather conditions. Flexible gas generation can respond quickly when renewable production falls, even if gas plants operate for fewer hours over time.
The challenge is economic as well as technical. Gas infrastructure must remain available and safe even when total throughput declines. Lower volumes can raise the cost per unit of maintaining pipelines, conversion plants, storage and emergency capacity. Policymakers must manage that decline without weakening security of supply or placing excessive costs on the consumers who remain connected.
The Netherlands Is Reusing Its Gas Network
The future of Dutch gas infrastructure will not be limited to fossil methane. Gasunie and other companies are developing networks for hydrogen, carbon dioxide transport and biomethane. Existing pipeline corridors, storage knowledge, offshore assets and industrial clusters give the Netherlands a strong base for this transition.
Biomethane, often called green gas in the Netherlands, can be injected into existing networks after organic materials are processed and the gas is upgraded. The Dutch Climate Agreement includes an ambition to produce 2 billion cubic metres annually by 2030. Production reached about 294 million cubic metres in 2024, showing both growth and the large distance still remaining to the target.
Hydrogen may eventually replace natural gas in parts of heavy industry and long-duration energy storage. Some pipelines can be converted, although new infrastructure and strict separation between gas qualities will also be needed. Empty offshore gas fields are being prepared for carbon dioxide storage, linking the former production system to industrial decarbonisation.
Natural gas will decline in importance without disappearing quickly. The Netherlands is likely to remain a major European gas hub even as its own consumption and production decrease. Its influence will come less from underground reserves and more from LNG terminals, pipelines, storage, trading, conversion technology and the ability to adapt gas-era infrastructure to a changing energy system.
