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
25 Apr 25 |
Netherlands: GOLDBECK SOLAR & Novar launch construction of 74 MWp Bellingwolde solar park in the Netherlands GOLDBECK SOLAR, a leading supplier of large-scale turnkey photovoltaic systems, has announced the construction of the Bellingwolde solar park in the Netherlands in cooperation with Novar. With a capacity of 74 MWp, this project represents a significant contribution to the region’s sustainable energy supply. The project will help to save around 30,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year and thus make a significant contribution to climate protection. |
23 Apr 25 |
Netherlands: Vestas and Ecowende test red blades at Hollandse Kust West At Ecowende’s initiative, Vestas is supplying red blades for a new trial at Hollandse Kust West. The trial involves one red-coated blade on each of seven wind turbines. The purpose is to investigate whether the red color increases blade visibility to birds and helps reduce the risk of collisions, compared to the traditional grey blades. |
14 Mar 25 |
Netherlands: RWE switches on large-scale battery energy storage system in Eemshaven RWE has commissioned one of the largest Dutch battery storage systems in the Netherlands at its Eemshaven power station. With a total capacity of 35 megawatts (MW) and a storage capacity of 41 megawatt hours (MWh), the battery will be used to balance power supply and demand in the Dutch power grid. |
28 Feb 25 |
Netherlands: Expro wins contract supplying Tubular Running Services for Landmark Carbon Capture and Storage project Energy services provider Expro has secured a contract to supply Tubular Running Services (TRS) as part of a major Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in the Netherlands. |
19 Feb 25 |
Netherlands: Wood to deliver engineering for major European green hydrogen facility Wood, a global leader in consulting and engineering, has been awarded the front-end engineering design (FEED) scope for the Zeevonk hydrogen facility, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The hydrogen plant will be powered by offshore wind and floating offshore solar from the Zeevonk offshore developments. |
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