Natural gas and oil reserves on the Dutch territory; national accounts

Dataset is not available.


The (physical) natural gas and oil reserves consist of (socially responsible and commercially viable) extractable quantities of natural gas and oil found in the Netherlands, plus the amount pending development. Next to the ‘Groningen’ gas field (which, in principle, will be closed in 2024), the Netherlands has the so-called ‘small natural gas and oil fields’ on land (among which also the wells in the Wadden sea) and fields in the North Sea.

The reserves are estimated with the physical data on natural gas and oil reserves that are derived from the annual publication “Natural resources and geothermal energy in the Netherlands” by TNO commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Definitions and data are in accordance with the Petroleum Resource Management System which has been used by TNO since 2013. For reasons of consistency with Dutch environmental accounts and national accounts terminology, we have opted to use reserves rather than resources as used in the TNO report.

The opening stock of the reserves is 1 January and the closing stock is 31 December. Stocks and flows in the Statline table are measured in Sm3. In 2018, there was a substantial downward adjustment of the gas reserves in the Groningen gas field.

The table is part of the environmental accounts. The environmental accounts quantify the relationship between the economy and the environment. To arrive at a consistent statistical description of this relationship, the environmental accounts are in line with the classifications and definitions of the national accounts. As a result, environmental figures from the environmental accounts deviate in a number of cases from the environmental figures elsewhere on the CBS website.

Data available from: 1987

Status of the figures:
The figures in this table for the last year are provisional. The figures for the other years are final.

Erratum as of 22 September 2023:
An imperfection in the processing had been discovered, causing the final balance of natural gas reserves for the years 2016 to 2022 to be overestimated. This has been corrected so that the figures now correspond again with the data in the TNO annual reports (converted to Sm3).

Changes as of August 31, 2023
The provisional figures for 2022 have been added.

When will new figures be published?
New figures are published annually end of August.

Description topics

Natural gas reserves
The reserves consist of the amount of natural gas in the Netherlands which has been discovered and considered extractable (socially responsible and commercially viable), increased by the amount in gas fields pending development.
Opening stock
The opening stock consists of the amount of reserves as of 1 January of the reporting year. The opening stock is equal to the closing stock of the previous year.
New discoveries
Newly discovered gas fields on the Dutch territory.
Extraction and other changes
Consists of the extraction of natural gas (at the expense of the reserve) and the net balance of underground storage of natural gas. In addition, the reserves are adjusted because of re-evaluation of estimates of existing reserves as a result of technical changes (e.g. new technologies), from the point of view of social responsibility (safety and feelings of security among the population) and/or changes in economic conditions (different market circumstances).
Closing stock
The closing stock consists of the amount of reserves as of 31 December of the reporting year. The closing stock is the opening stock of the next year.
Oil reserves
The reserves consist of the amount of oil in the Netherlands which has been discovered and considered extractable (socially responsible and commercially viable), increased by the amount in gas fields pending development.
Opening stock
The opening stock consists of the amount of reserves as of 1 January of the reporting year. The opening stock is equal to the closing stock of the previous year.
New discoveries
Newly discovered oil accumulations on the Dutch territory.
Oil accumulation: a natural, isolated accumulation of oil in a subsurface reservoir consisting of a porous rock that is capped or enclosed by an impermeable rock.
Extraction and other changes
Consists of the extraction of oil (at the expense of the reserve). In addition, the reserves are adjusted because of re-evaluation of estimates of existing reserves as a result of technical changes (e.g. new technologies), from the point of view of social responsibility (safety and feelings of security among the population) and/or changes in economic conditions (different market circumstances).
Closing stock
The closing stock consists of the amount of reserves as of 31 December of the reporting year. The closing stock is the opening stock of the next year.