Enschede, The Netherlands, 2022
Safe and responsible salt mining also involves the safe closure of caverns after their productive lifetime. It has been agreed with the Dutch State Supervision of Mines (Staatstoezicht op de Mijnen) that we will abandon our inactive salt caverns in Twente in the eastern Netherlands at an accelerated pace. This means we will abandon around 300 inactive wells within 15 years; currently we are closing 24 per year.
In 2022, we closed a very complex well, TWR-243. This was managed in close cooperation with the municipality of Enschede as the well was located right beneath a main road in the city of Enschede that connects highway A-35 with the University of Twente, the FC Twente soccer stadium and the business park. We were able to manage the increase in traffic even when FC Twente suddenly qualified for European football; through consultation with both the municipality of Enschede and FC Twente, we were able to complete the project on time and in full. All work was carried out during the holiday period with multiple drilling rigs operating simultaneously.