Europe / Caspian / CIS
Country profile: Netherlands
Location: | Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany |
Climate: | temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters |
Terrain: | mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast |
Size: | 41526 sq. km total (Land area: 33883 sq. km Water area: 7643 sq.km) |
Population: | 16,645,313 (July 2008 est.) |
Languages: | Dutch (official), Frisian (official) |
Government: | constitutional monarchy |
Capital city: | Amsterdam |
Legal system: | based on civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Currency: | euro (EUR) |
Licensing: |
Country profile
Significant North Sea oil and natural gas reserves were discovered in the 1970s. However, the North Sea did not emerge as a key, non-OPEC oil producing area until the 1980s and 1990s, when major projects began coming onstream. Oil and natural gas extraction in the North Sea's inhospitable climate and great depths requires sophisticated offshore technology. Consequently, the region is a relatively high-cost producer, but its political stability and proximity to major European consumer markets have allowed it to play a major role in world oil and natural gas markets. Five countries operate crude oil and natural gas production facilities in the North Sea: Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
Although the region will continue to be a sizable crude oil producer, output from its largest producers - the UK and Norway - has peaked and entered a period of long term decline. In the near term, improved oil recovery technologies, continued high oil prices and new projects coming online could temporarily delay declines in North Sea crude oil output. Nonetheless, only new discoveries of sizable volumes could reverse the current downward trend of oil production from the North Sea. In regards to natural gas, the North Sea is also seen as a mature region.
Only Norway has seen an increase in natural gas production in recent years, while the UK will likely become a net gas importer in the midterm. Nevertheless, the North Sea’s importance as a key supplier of natural gas will continue, as natural gas consumption in Europe will increase significantly in the future. Imports from outside sources, such as Africa, the Middle East and Russia, will have to increase to compensate for the North Sea decline.
Energy production and consumption
Oil | Gas | |
Production: | 76,000 bbl/day (2006) | 77 billion cu m (2006) |
Consumption: | 1 million bbl/day (2006) | 47 billion cu m (2006) |
Exports: | 1 million bbl/day (2006) | 50 billion cu m (2006) |
Imports: | 2 million bbl/day (2006) | 22 billion cu m (2006) |
Reserves: | 106 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.) | 1 trllion cu m (2007) |
Major fields: |
Netherlands - recent news
04 Sep 23 |
World Hydrogen Week sees launch of world-first H2 derivative programme, focusing on energy and power With the urgent need for clean hydrogen to rapidly scale to meet increasing demand and achieve climate goals, World Hydrogen Leaders announce their enhanced World Hydrogen Week, taking place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, from 9th to 13th October 2023. |
24 Jul 23 |
Netherlands: Van Oord completes cable installation at CrossWind’s Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind park Van Oord has completed installing and burying inter-array cables at CrossWind’s Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind park, bringing it a step closer to being fully operational by the end of this year. |
21 Jul 23 |
Netherlands: Kistos awarded M10/M11 licence extension and reports increase in reserves and resources Kistos has successfully appealed against the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs decision not to extend the term of the M10/M11 licence. This ruling is effective immediately and the licence is extended by five years. Kistos has also reported a 41% increase in reserves and resources. |
10 Jul 23 |
Netherlands: Nuveen Infrastructure acquires 15% Stake in 731.5MW Borssele III/IV Wind Farm Nuveen Infrastructure, one of the world’s largest fund managers investing in clean energy, has announced an investment which will see them acquire a 15% Stake in 731.5MW Borssele III/IV offshore wind farm from Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, acting on behalf of its clients. |
20 Jun 23 |
Netherlands: CrossWind’s Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind park produces first green energy On June 19 the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind park produced its first megawatt-hours (MWh) of green energy, and delivered it via TenneT’s offshore grid to the Dutch mainland. Hollandse Kust Noord is being built 18.5 kms off the Dutch coast by CrossWind, a joint venture of Shell and Eneco. |
Netherlands - more news
Other countries in this region
- Afghanistan,
- Albania,
- Armenia,
- Austria,
- Azerbaijan,
- Belarus,
- Belgium,
- Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- Bulgaria,
- Croatia,
- Cyprus,
- Czech Republic,
- Denmark,
- Estonia,
- Faroe Islands,
- Finland,
- France,
- Georgia,
- Germany,
- Greece,
- Greenland,
- Hungary,
- Iceland,
- Ireland,
- Italy,
- Kazakhstan,
- Kyrgyzstan,
- Latvia,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Malta,
- Moldova,
- Montenegro,
- Norway,
- Poland,
- Portugal,
- Romania,
- Russia,
- Serbia,
- Slovakia,
- Slovenia,
- Spain,
- Sweden,
- Switzerland,
- Tajikistan,
- Tatarstan,
- Turkey,
- Turkmenistan,
- Ukraine,
- United Kingdom,
- Uzbekistan