GEOLOGY OF THE NETHERLANDS

Geology of the Netherlands

edited by theo e. wong dick a.j. batjes jan de jager

royal netherlands academy of arts and sciences, 2007

 2007 royal netherlands academy of arts and sciences No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. information and orders Edita-KNAW PO Box 19121, 1000 GC Amsterdam, Netherlands T + 31 20 551 07 00 F + 31 20 620 49 41 edita@bureau.knaw.nl www.knaw.nl/edita Available as pdf at www.knaw.nl/edita isbn 978-90-6984-481-7 The paper in this publication meets the requirements of permanence. design and typography Ellen Bouma, Edita-KNAW typography cover Franoise Berserik gures Department of Geomedia of the Faculty of Geosciences of Utrecht University (many chapters) index Bozena van Trigt typesetting VTEX, Akademijos 4, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania, vtex@vtex.lt printed by n.v. Peeters s.a., Herent, Belgium nancial support Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV cover photograph Aerial view of Het Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe (the drowned land of Saeftinghe), presently a tidal area situated along the Westerschelde estuary in the province of Zeeland. The area measures ca. 30 km2 and was inhabited until the end of the 16th century. Courtesy of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat).

iso-norm 9706 (1994) for

Contents

NAM and geology: a long-standing and a deep relationship > vii Foreword > S.B. Kroonenberg > viii Introduction > Th.E. Wong, D.A.J. Batjes & J. de Jager > 1 Geological development > J. de Jager > 5 Pre-Silesian > M.C. Geluk, M. Dusar & W. de Vos > 27 Silesian > J.M. van Buggenum & D.G. den Hartog Jager > 43 Permian > M.C. Geluk > 63 Triassic > M.C. Geluk > 85 Jurassic > Th.E. Wong > 107 Cretaceous > G.F.W. Herngreen & Th.E. Wong > 127 Tertiary > Th.E. Wong, I.R. de Lugt, G. Kuhlmann & I. Overeem > 151 Quaternary > W. de Gans > 173 Magmatism in the Netherlands: expression of the north-west European rifting history > M.J. van Bergen & W. Sissingh > 197 Natural and induced seismicity > B. Dost & H.W. Haak > 223 Petroleum geology > J. de Jager & M.C. Geluk > 241 Peat, coal and coalbed methane > F. van Bergen, H.J.M. Pagnier & P.C.H. van Tongeren > 265 Salt > M.C. Geluk, W.A. Paar & P.A. Fokker > 283 Groundwater > J.J. de Vries > 295 Surface mineral resources > M.J. van der Meulen, J.W. Broers, A.L. Hakstege, H.S. Pietersen, M.W.I.M. van Heijst & T.P.F. Koopmans > 317 Underground storage and sequestration > C.F.M. Bos > 335 Geothermal energy > A. Lokhorst & Th.E. Wong > 341 Contributing authors > 347 Index > M.B. van Trigt > 349

Geology of the Netherlands Edited by Th.E. Wong, D.A.J. Batjes & J. de Jager Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2007: v

NAM and geology: a long-standing and deep relationship

During the 1930s many people thought that the Netherlands had few underground resources. There were only coal mines in the southern Dutch province of Limburg and rock salt (halite) mines in Boekelo, Twente. Starting in 1943, this picture changed dramatically. The riches lying beneath the Netherlands were discovered. In that year, the Shell subsidiary Exploratie Nederland discovered an oil eld near Schoonebeek in the eastern Netherlands. After this discovery, Shell and Esso decided to jointly invest capital in a new company that would search for and extract oil: the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (Dutch Oil Company), or NAM. NAM was founded on 19 September 1947. In 1948, NAM made its rst discovery of natural gas in Coevorden. A little more than ten years later (1959), NAM uncovered further secrets of the Earths crust. Near Slochteren in the northern Netherlands, the company drilled into the famous Groningen gas eld. This eld is one of the worlds largest natural gas elds. It originally held 2.7 trillion (2.7 1012 ) cubic metres of extractable natural gas. This nd opened the door to the exploration for and production of natural gas under the North Sea. In 1961, NAM was the rst Western European company to drill for gas in the North Sea. Today, NAM is the Netherlands largest producer of natural gas. Per year, NAM produces around 50 billion cubic metres of gas. A little more than half of this gas comes from the Groningen gas eld and the rest comes from various smaller elds elsewhere on land or in the North Sea. NAM produces around 75% of the total Dutch gas production. Oil is also still being extracted by NAM, although in much smaller quantities than the gas produced. NAM is responsible for around 25% of the Netherlands oil production. By using the Earths crust for storing natural gas, NAM is anticipating future needs. Examples are the underground gas storage facilities in Langelo and Grijpskerk (both in the northern Netherlands), which allow NAM to continue to meet the demand for gas during periods of extreme cold. These gas storage facilities are in empty gas elds. Additionally, NAM is still searching for new gas elds under the Netherlands and the North Sea. On the basis of the gas reserves that have been veried already, NAM estimates that the Netherlands has sufcient gas reserves for another 25 years, depending, of course, on the demand for natural gas during the coming years. Right from the beginning, NAM has always had an intensive relationship with geologists. This is no different today. NAM still wants to uncover the secrets of the Earths crust. NAM and geology a long and deep relationship.

Geology of the Netherlands Edited by Th.E. Wong, D.A.J. Batjes & J. de Jager Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2007: vii

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