The Netherlands has historically been an important producer of gas, which provided more than 50% of energy consumption in the country since the 1970s thanks to the discovery of the Groningen gas field. However, the added value of gas extraction has fallen sharply since 2013 and the Dutch government decided to phase out gas production from the Groningen field in 2018. The country also produces oil, rock salt and surface minerals such as sand, gravel and shells.
The Netherlands has used the EITI process to strengthen systematic disclosure. The government has built a robust reconciliation of company payments with government revenues. Further disclosures of contracts, environmental management and fiscal projection for extractive industry revenues could ensure closer alignment between NL-EITI data and public demands for information.
The objective for the Netherlands while implementing the EITI Standard is to contribute to a well-informed debate about the value chains in the extractive industries in the Netherlands. The data in the EITI Reports is already largely available elsewhere. The main value of the publication and the EITI website is that they make the data accessible to everyone in one single source.
In the 2018 EITI Report, NL-EITI included sections on the energy transition, summarising the government’s plans to phase out the use of fossil energy sources and implement sustainable energy policies, as well as ongoing debates on the role of gas in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Most extractive industry information is systematically disclosed in the Dutch Oil and Gas Portal. These systems provide a strong basis for the NL-EITI’s use as an annual diagnostic of government and company disclosure systems.
It is widely believed that well-governed and transparent commodities industries contribute to healthy and trustworthy environments for Dutch citizens. For participants in the Dutch EITI multi-stakeholder group, which includes representatives of the Dutch government, oil and gas companies and civil-society organizations, this trust is a major policy goal.
Statement of support
Extractive sector management
Production and exports
Revenue collection
Revenue distribution
Top paying companies
Tax and legal framework
The Netherlands’ extractive sector is mainly governed by the Mining Act (Mijnbouwwet), which lays down the rules for the prospecting, exploration and production of geothermal energy, storage of minerals and mining-related activities. Companies are also subject to other legislation and general administrative orders such as implementing regulations relating to the surrounding areas, spatial planning, the environment, nature, water and external safety. The sector is mainly regulated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.
Extractive companies pay corporate income tax and other mining levies such as profit shares, royalties (cijns) and surface rent. Four production licenses for the Groningen gas field granted prior to 1962 are still subject to the taxation regime set out in a private-law agreement concluded with the state.
License and contracts
Mining concessions are granted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy based on technical and financial criteria set out in the Mining Act. Furthermore, to carry out mining activities at a proposed location, an environmental permit is always required on the basis of the General Provisions Environmental Law Act.
As part of the assessment, the Minister requests advice from the State Supervision of Mines (SSM), the state-owned company EBN (for oil and gas) and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research.
The Dutch government’s policy is in favour of full license disclosure. Licenses are granted on the basis of statutory provisions. The government publishes an overview of the permits issued in a particular year via its oil and gas portal. The Netherlands systematically discloses the full text of mining, oil and gas licenses, including annexes and amendments, through the official gazette.
Beneficial ownership
The Netherlands has enacted legislation to establish a publicly accessible beneficial ownership register. Since September 2020, legal entities established in the Netherlands have been obliged to register their ultimate beneficial owners in accordance with the Implementation Act under the 4th EU anti-money laundering directive. Regulations implementing the act took effect in March 2022. The beneficial ownership register will be maintained by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.
The government has collected beneficial ownership from some but not all corporate entities that apply for or hold participating interests in mining, oil and gas exploration or production licenses. It is expected that the requisite beneficial ownership information will be available following full enforcement of the regulations.
Revenue distribution
Besides national payments, several regional payments are collected by regional and local authorities and are provided for partly in the Mining Act and partly in other acts. The rates for these payments are often determined at a local level.
For onshore operations, companies make a once-only payment to the province hosting the extractive activity, which is determined by the surface area of the site used. In addition, regional and local water boards collect various levies, including the water system levy, purification levy and pollution levy. Companies are also required to pay property taxes to the municipality in which they own immovable property, which are determined per municipality by the municipal council.
There are no transfers between national and subnational government entities related to revenues generated by the extractive industries in the Netherlands.
EITI implementation
Governance
Netherlands EITI (NL-EITI) is administered by the Netherlands Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG). The MSG is hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and chaired by Mr Joost Haenen.
The Netherlands achieved a fairly low overall score (56 points) in implementing the 2019 EITI Standard, following its first Validation in December 2021.
For more information about planned Validations, consult the Validation schedule.