About Groningen Gas Field:

• The Groningen gas field is natural in Groningen province in the northeastern part of the Netherlands.
• It is the largest natural gas field in Europe.
• This region of Groningen in the Netherlands has a gas field that began operations in 1963.
• During the 1980s, the area saw numerous earthquakes – minor enough to avoid large damage but big enough for local buildings to develop cracks.
• Following these quakes, the Dutch government had earlier said that it would shutter the field in response to local protests.
• In Groningen, the ground subsiding has been caused by extraction alone over several years.
• Such extraction causes rocks to contract – as the pores get to hold fewer and fewer hydrocarbons over time.