The top court in the Netherlands on Monday ordered the suspension of the Bergermeer gas storage project, the largest in Europe, citing objections by environmentalists and local residents.
The Bergermeer gas storage project was intended to store up to 4.1 billion cubic metres of gas when completed, and would be operated by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company , the majority owner.
TAQA, which is 75 percent owned by the Abu Dhabi government, has a 60 percent stake in the Bergermeer project, while Energie Beheer Nederland, a Dutch state-owned gas company, owns the remainder.
The project, which the government had already approved, faced strong opposition locally because of fears that injecting gas into the depleted gas field – near Alkmaar in the country’s northwest – could cause strong earth tremors.
The Council of State, the top court, ruled that the project must be temporarily suspended, pending a final ruling, to avoid “irreversible consequences”.
“There is much resistance against this plan by the government,” the council said in its preliminary ruling.
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