Letter from the Minister concerning oil and gas when producing geothermal energy.
In most projects for the production of geothermal energy to date, oil and gas have also been pumped up with the water. In a letter sent on 31 January 2012 to all parties involved, the Minister of Economic Affairs stated that this has far-reaching implications. The Minister pointed out that the pumping up of oil and gas can be hazardous, and that to assure safety it is necessary to implement technical measures, which generally means incurring substantial costs. In addition, the geothermal producers must have knowledge of and expertise in mining, engineering and legislation.
The Inspector General of Mines will ascertain whether current and aspirant permit holders have sufficient knowledge and expertise to be able to deal with the mining engineering problems of geothermal projects. This might result in prospective and current permit holders being required to take steps in order to comply with the stipulated requirements.
For more information see: Brief EZ, nr ETM/EM/12008276 (only available in Dutch)
The State Supervision of Mines website gives supplementary information (only available in Dutch) on guidelines relating to safety and the environment.