The Dutch government has promised a compensation package totaling around €22 billion ($24 billion) to the northern regions of Groningen and Drenthe for decades of damage from gas extraction.
During a visit to the province of Groningen, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday the government owed affected areas the assistance due to damage from the extraction.
Gas extraction caused hundreds of earthquakes that damaged numerous buildings and severely impacted the lives of citizens, thousands of whom have not been compensated.
Rutte apologized again on behalf of the government for "letting people down for decades."
The government will invest €250 million annually for the next 30 years to repay damages and increase the region's economic prospects, he said. Damage to buildings is to be restored without red tape. Gas extraction caused about 1,600 earthquakes since 1986. Tens of thousands of buildings were severely damaged, about 100,000 people were affected.
In 2018, the government decided to gradually end gas production by 2023. The Groningen natural gas field was discovered in 1959, and production began in 1963.
The Netherlands became the largest natural gas producer in Europe after Norway. The state earned more than €360 billion, the oil companies involved, Shell and Exxon Mobil, around €66 billion.
