Re-development former Dutch oilfields not before 2009

ASSEN – The resumption of pumping oil from the fields near the Drenthe village of Schoonebeek could take begin as early as 2009. The oilfields were abandoned ten years ago, when it became economically unfeasible to tap the thick oil. New methods and pumps - and the much higher price per barrel - make it possible to re-develop ‘Schoonebeek,’ which was discovered in 1943. The size of the field is estimated at one billion barrels, making it the largest oilfield in northwest Europe. Only one quarter of the oil was pumped up between 1946 and 1996.