In February 2023, the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Natural Gas Production Groningen (PEAG) presented its final report Groningers boven gas (Groningers above gas), in which it concluded that the interests of the Groningers had been 'structurally ignored'. Partly behind this report was an investigation by the CPG. In a discourse analysis, five CPG researchers analysed the various 'discourses' (dominant narratives and arguments) that played a role during the history of gas extraction from 1959 onwards and focused on social discussion and political-administrative debate.
They concluded that the economic discourse, in which revenue for the state treasury and the stable supply of gas was paramount, was dominant for a long time. Less attention was paid to the interests of the local population, which changed somewhat after the Huizinge quake (2012). After 2015, gas production decreased, and the safety discourse took over. As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, doubts arose again as to whether the gas tap could be closed completely, given the dependence on foreign (Russian) gas.
