Gas and oil reserves 
As of 1 January 2009 Dutch gas reserves were estimated at 1346 billion m3. This is about 30 times the annual usage of gas of 45 billion m3. Of the total gas reserves 1033 billion m3 are in the Groningen field. Smaller fields on national territory contain 130 billion m3 gas and those on the Dutch sector of the continental shelf 183 billion m3. Current oil reserves stand at 34 billion m3, of which 25 billion m3 on national territory and 9 billion m3 on the continental shelf (excluding the Schoonebeek field).

Production
Annual gas production from Dutch fields totals some 75 billion m3. Annual oil production is about 2 million m3. 

Contribution
The Dutch oil and gas industry and the associated service operations make a significant contribution to the national budget. In 2008 this was almost 15 billion euro. 

Employment 
Oil and gas exploration and production in the Netherlands currently employ over 3,000 people. Some 3200 are employed at associated supplier companies. On top of this there are many people employed in the offshore sector (engineering companies, suppliers of equipment and construction and installation companies). This sector includes over 300 companies and employs some 10,000 people. (The oil and gas companies themselves are not counted in the offshore sector.)

Licences
To explore and produce oil and gas, licences or permits are required. On the web site of the NL Oil and Gas Portal there are overviews of all permit holders and current permit applications.