Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), the Groningen gas field operator, challenges about €764M in levies the State imposed for earthquake damage and home value losses compensated in 2020 and 2021. On June 12, 2026, the District Court of Northern Netherlands upheld the damage levies and annulled the value-loss decision insofar as it covered unsold homes. NAM and the Minister have appealed to the Council of State.
Latest development Jul 21, 2026
On July 21, 2026, the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations appealed to the Council of State against the judgment that annulled the value-loss levy decision for unsold homes. NAM had appealed both June 12 judgments on July 20, 2026. No hearing date has been announced.
Why it matters
The Council of State will decide how far the State may charge NAM for Groningen compensation schemes that pay without proof that gas production caused the damage. The answer shapes future levies on NAM, which the State has projected at about €7.4B for 2025 to 2031.
Background
Under the Groningen Temporary Act (TwG), the Groningen Mining Damage Institute (IMG) compensates damage caused by gas production from the Groningen field. The State recovers the costs through levies on the field’s operator, Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM). NAM is owned equally by Shell and ExxonMobil. It says the State’s schemes pay for damage not linked to gas production and challenges the size of the payouts it is charged for.
NAM challenged levies of about €268M for physical damage and the IMG’s costs in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. It also challenged levies of about €495M for compensation of falling home values in the fourth quarter of 2020 and in 2021. The Minister upheld the levies on objection in June 2024 and April 2025. NAM appealed to the District Court of Northern Netherlands, which heard the cases in Groningen in March 2026.
On June 12, 2026, the court dismissed the appeal on physical damage. It held that the TwG requires the Minister to pass on all costs of the IMG’s statutory tasks. It also held that the IMG could base the affected area on the Bommer calculation model. In the value-loss case, the court upheld the levies for sold homes. It annulled the decision insofar as it covered unsold homes, whose loss in value could not be assessed in the abstract at the January 1, 2019, reference date. It ordered the Minister to take a new decision.
NAM appealed both judgments to the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State on July 20, 2026, and the Minister appealed the value-loss judgment on July 21, 2026. NAM has also challenged the levy for physical damage in 2021. On December 8, 2025, the court had refused to suspend €1.35B in levies for 2024 costs, which NAM paid. Shell and ExxonMobil are challenging the Minister’s decision that they lack standing to object to levies imposed on NAM.
Timeline 10 events
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AppealMinister appeals the value-loss judgment
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AppealNAM appeals both judgments to the Council of State
On the same day, NAM also appealed the decision on its objection to the 2021 physical damage levy.
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JudgmentDistrict court upholds damage levies and annuls value-loss decision in part
The court dismissed the physical damage appeal and annulled the value-loss decision insofar as it covered unsold homes.
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OrderMinister rules Shell and ExxonMobil objections inadmissible
The Minister found that NAM’s shareholders had no direct interest in the levy decisions. Shell and ExxonMobil appealed to the court on May 26, 2026.
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HearingDistrict court hears NAM’s levy appeals in Groningen
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JudgmentCourt refuses to suspend €1.35B in 2024 levies
The judge found no urgency because NAM did not dispute that it could pay. NAM paid the levies on December 30, 2025.
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OrderMinister upholds the value-loss levies on objection
NAM appealed to the District Court of Northern Netherlands on June 2, 2025.
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OrderMinister rejects NAM’s objections to the 2020 damage levies
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OtherState levies €314M on NAM for 2021 home value losses
An earlier levy of €181M covered value-loss compensation for the fourth quarter of 2020.
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OtherState levies €116M on NAM for third-quarter 2020 damage
The levy covered physical damage compensated by the IMG and its costs. A second levy of €153M for the fourth quarter followed on June 7, 2022.