Annual Report 2009 Unprecedented opportunities · 2020. 5. 14. · EBN Anual Report 2009 | 2 Preface ‘Unprecedented opportunities’: that is the theme of EBN’s 2009 annual report

Annual R

eport 2009 - Unprecedented opportunities

Annual Report 2009Unprecedented opportunities

ContactsKey figures

Visiting address Visiting address

EBN Utrecht EBN Heerlen

Moreelsepark 48 Het Overloon 1

3511 EP Utrecht 6411 TE Heerlen

Postal address

P.O. Box 19063

3501 DB Utrecht

T +31 (0)30-2339001

F +31 (0)30-2339051

E [email protected]

Copy

Tekst & Speech, Haren

Design and layout

Bovil DDB, Eindhoven

Photography

Roy Beusker, Den Haag

Print

Drukkerij van Meurs, Ridderkerk

© 2010 EBN

No part of this publication may be copied and/or made public by means of printing.

photocopy, microfilm or in any other way whatsoever without EBN’s prior written consent.

2009 2008

Number of participations 181 171

of which pertaining to exploration 45 41

Sales volume, EBN share (billion m3)1 29 30

EBN's (in)direct share in reserves (billion m3 GE) 491 507

Sales (from continuing operations) 6,387 8,698

Net profit from continuing operations 2,211 3,269

State income via EBN 5,188 7,516

Capital expenditure 713 576

Depreciation and amortization 462 501

Number of employees 79 61

1 This includes the proportional part of sales from onshore production licenses in which

EBN has no equity share but is entitled to a proportional share of the revenues. Unless

stated otherwise, all quantities in this report are expressed in billion m3 of natural gas

(35,17 M at 0 degrees Centigrade) based on EBN’s participation percentage.

2 Preface

6 AboutEBN

10 Outlook

12 ReportoftheSupervisoryBoard

18 Organisation

21 ThepeopleofEBN

25 Externalstakeholders

34 Strategy

36 Smallfields,greatimportance

37 Explorationandproduction

42 Gasgebouwpartnership

48 Financialresults

49 Riskmanagementandinternalcontrol

53 CorporateGovernance

54 Financialstatements 54 General

56 Principlesforthevaluationofassetsand

liabilitiesanddeterminationofprofit

62 Statementofcomprehensiveincome

63 BalanceSheet

64 Summaryofchangesinshareholder’sequity

65 StatementofCashFlows

66 NotestotheFinancialStatementsof

EnergieBeheerNederlandB.V.

67 Notestothestatementofcomprehensive

income

71 Notestothebalancesheet

84 Otherexplanatorynotes

87 Profitappropriation

88 Auditors’report

90 Glossary

92 Keyfigures

Contacts

Introduction

People

Planet

Profit

1

2

3

4

2|EBNAnualReport2009

Preface

‘Unprecedentedopportunities’:thatisthetheme

ofEBN’s2009annualreport.Inourworkweare

constantlylookingforunprecedentedopportunities

andwecanfindtheseinmanydifferentareas.

Inthe‘people’sphere,EBNonceagainwitnessed

majorchangesin2009.Firstofall,internally.The

transitionfrombeingpartofDSMtowardsbeingan

independentcompanyhasvirtuallybeenaccomplished.

OurHeerlenofficewillclosedownpermanentlyat

theendof2010.Thisobviouslyhasfar-reaching

consequencesforthepeoplewhoworkthere.We

arethereforeworkingcloselytogetherwiththemon

developingthenextstageintheircareers,whetherthis

involvesamovetoEBN’sUtrechtofficeortoalternative

employmentormayberetirementorearlyretirement.

Inthemeantime,weareactivelybuildingourUtrecht

organisation,whichexpandedconsiderablyin2009.

Weareinvestingindevelopinganorganisationthatcan

enthusiasticallytackleEBN’scurrentandfuturetasks,

withhighlytrainedandpro-activestaffandappropriate

operatingprocedures.

DuringtheyearEBNhosteddiscussionmeetingsforits

businesspartnerstoexchangeideas.Wealsocarried

outvariousstudiesandconductedresearch.Wherever

possibleEBNwouldliketoshareitsknowledgewithits

partnersandmakeitsinformationaccessible.Wehave

setouttoexplainEBN’sprinciplesandthevalueitadds

asclearlyaspossible.Wehavemanagedtoattractthe

attentionofthemediafortopicswedeemimportant,

suchasunconventionalgasresources.

MostofEBN’sactivitiesrelatetogas,thecleanest

fossilfueland,therefore,importantinthetransition

tosustainableenergy.EBN’soperationsfocuson

ensuringsustainableuseofthesubsurfacesoasto

maximisebenefitsforDutchsociety.Alargenumberof

newgasfieldscameonstreamin2009,largelythanks

togoodexplorationresults.Thesenewfieldsarebadly

3 | Preface

neededifwearetomaintainthelevelofproduction

fromsmallfieldsforaslongaspossible.EBNseta

targetin2009toproduce30billioncubicmetresof

gasfromsmallfieldsintheyear2030.Thattargetis

high,butachievable.

FollowingdevelopmentsinNorthAmerica,EBNcommis-

sionedastudyintothepotentialofunconventionalgas

reserves.ItisprobablethattheDutchsubsurfaceholds

additionalgasprospectsintheorderofseveralhundreds

ofbillionsofcubicmetresofproduciblegas.Gasthat

hasnotyetbeendefined,letaloneproven.However,a

lotofresearchstillhastobedonebeforethesevolumes

canbeproduced.Researchintofindingouthowthis

gascanbetechnicallyproduced,butalsoresearchinto

planningprocedures.Thesepotentialvolumeswillalso

havetoplaytheirpartifEBNistoachieveitstargets.

DuringtheyearunderreviewEBNalsoevaluated

optionsforcarboncaptureandstorage(CCS):

deepundergroundstorageofCO2.Thisstudywas

commissionedbytheMinistryofEconomicAffairsand

wasperformedinclosecooperationwithGasuniein

respectofthetransportationaspects.Wewillpresent

ouradvicetotheMinisterinApril2010.

Asfaras‘profit’isconcerned,2009wasaturbulent

year.Manycompanieshadadifficultyearbecause

theeconomiccrisisdidnotpasstheE&Psectorby

unnoticed.Asaresultoflowerturnoverandloweroil

andgasprices,EBN’s2009resultswereconsiderably

lowerthanintherecordyearof2008.Theyear2008,

however,wasanexceptionalyear,andthe2009results

arecomparabletothelevelsrecordedin2006and2007.

Apositivefeaturein2009wasthehighinvestment

level:despitetheeconomiccrisis,mostoilcompanies

eithercuttheirbudgetsonlymarginallyornotatall.

Asaresult,moreexplorationandappraisalwellswere

drilledthanin2008.Mostwellswerealsosuccessful,

whichisveryimportantformid-termproduction

security.ItalsoprovesthattheDutchsubsurface

isstillquiteprospectiveandthatitisfartooearly

tostopexploring.Inotherwords,therearemany

unprecedentedopportunitieshere,too!

In2009weexaminedthescopeforCSRinour

organisationanddiscoveredthatmanyofourcurrent

activitiescanalreadyberegardedasCSR-compliant.

ButthereisstillmorewecandotoensurethatCSR

becomesanintegralpartofourcompany’sideas

andactions.Stepbystep,weareworkingtowards

structurallyembeddingCSRintoourorganisation.

Allinall,EBNisgoingthroughaperiodoftransition.

NotjustthemovefromHeerlentoUtrecht,butalso

changingfrombeingafairly‘silent’partnerforthe

government,licenceholdersandothersintobeing

acompanythatseekstouseitsknowledgeand

experiencetocreateaddedvalue.Withyouasour

partner,wearekeentocontinueoursearchfor

unprecedentedopportunitiesinthecomingyears!

JanDirkBokhoven

ChairmanExecutiveBoard


EBNhasawideknowledgeofandparticipationinDutchoilandgasexplorationactivities.Inthecomingdecadestheorganisation’sgrowingstrengthanditsstrongfinancialpositionwillcreateaddedvalueforitsstakeholders,bothprivateandpublic.

Intro

duct

ion


AboutEBN

General

ThediscoveryoftheGroningengasfieldturnedout

tobeofimmenseimportance,bothfortheDutchand

EuropeanenergysupplyandfortheDutcheconomy.

TheDutchgovernmentlookedforawayinwhichthe

gascouldbecommerciallyproducedandyetbenefit

Dutchsocietyasmuchaspossible.

ThesolutionwasfoundintheDutchState’spartici-

pationingasproductionandsales.Inadditionto

RoyalDutchShellandExxonMobil,theStatedirectly,

andindirectlyviaEBN,participatesinGasTerra,the

companyresponsibleforsellingmostoftheDutchgas.

Anditalsoparticipatesindirectly,againviaEBN,inthe

MaatschapGroningenpartnership,whichmanagesthe

Groningennaturalgas.

7 | Section1-Introduction

EBNplaysakeyroleintheexploration,production

andsaleofDutchnaturalgas,whilealsobeingactive

inoilexplorationandproduction.TheNetherlands,

includingtheDutchpartofthecontinentalshelf,isrich

ingasreservesand,toalesserdegree,oilreserves.

Byparticipatinginlargenumbersofjointventures

withoilandgascompanies,EBNcontributestothe

explorationanddevelopmentofgasandoilreservesin

aneconomicallysoundmanner.

EBNisalsoinvolvedinsellingDutchnaturalgasvia

aninterestinGasTerra,thegastradingcompany.

Inaddition,EBNadvisestheMinisterofEconomic

AffairsonDutchenergypolicyingeneralandonissues

relatingtogoodstewardshipofDutchoilandgas

resourcesinparticular.

Mission

“�EBN�develops�energy�resources�and�oversees�the�

exploitation�of�the�deep�subsurface�in�a�manner�that�

is�profitable�for�Dutch�society.”�

ThismeansthatEBNaimstohelpmaximise

productionofoilandgasintheNetherlands,thus

generatingoptimalrevenuesforitsshareholder,

theDutchState.Tothisend,EBNactivelyseeks

tocreateanattractiveinvestmentclimatefor

miningcompaniesinordertomaximiseoiland

gasexplorationandproductionfromDutchfields,

whileensuringeffective,timelyandresponsibleuse

oftheexistinginfrastructure.EBNisalsoinvestigating

theopportunitiesforusingorreusingdepletedgas

fieldsandexistinginfrastructureforstoringnatural

gasorCO2.

EBN’spublic-sectordutiesaredefinedintheDutch

MiningActof2008.Asummaryofthesedutiesis

providedbelow:

• participatinginoilandgasexplorationandproduction;

• participatinginproduction-relatedactivities,including

thesale,transportandstorageofnaturalgasandoil;

• carryingouttasksaspartoftheGasgebouw

partnership(theagreementontheexploitationof

thenaturalgasreserveslocatedintheGroningen

productionlicenceandparticipationinGasTerraB.V.);

• performingothertasksinstructedbytheDutch

MinisterofEconomicAffairs;

• providingadvicetotheMinisterofEconomicAffairs.

Inadditiontoitspublic-sectorduties,EBNmayalso

carryoutotheractivitieswiththeconsentoftheMinister.

Consentisonlygrantediftheactivitiesandtheir

implementation:

• arecloselyrelatedtotheactivitiesneededtoperform

thepublic-sectorduties;

• donotinterferewiththeproperperformanceofthese

public-sectorduties;

• servethegeneralinterestoftheenergypolicy(suchas

gas-storagefacilities).


EBN and CSR

In2009,EBNembarkedonamorestructuralsearch

for‘unprecedentedopportunities’withrespecttoCSR

initsoperations.Oneoftheresultsofthissearchisa

newCSRpolicystatement,wherebyEBN’saimisto

achieveabalancebetweenpeople,planetandprofit.

Basedonitsmission,EBNisbydefinitionanorgani-

sationwithasocialresponsibility.Goodstewardship

andresponsibleproductionandexploitationofDutch

mineralresourcesareofmajorimportancetosociety.

ToEBN,therefore,‘profitabledevelopment’means

muchmorethanmakingaprofit.Inadditiontoseeking

tooptimiseitseconomicinterests(profit),EBNalso

takesaccountoftheeffectthatitsactivitieshaveon

theenvironment(planet)andonhumanactivitywithin

andoutsidetheorganisation(people).EBNnotonly

ensuressubstantialnaturalgasrevenuesfortheState,

butalsocontributestoamoresecureandsustainable

energysupplyandthusseekstocontributetosociety’s

long-termprosperity.EBN’sactivitiesarebasedonits

codeofconduct,inwhichrespectfortheindividual,

integrityandprofessionalismareleadingprinciples.

EBNadoptsanon-discriminatory,market-basedand

transparentpositioninconsultationswithbusiness

partnersandotherstakeholders.EBNseeksto

maintainrelationshipswithitsvariousstakeholderson

thebasisoftransparencyanddialogue.

Theambitiontosystematicallyestablishthisbalance

inallouractivitiesdoesnotrepresentanexpansionof

EBN’smission.EBNseekstoemphasisethesocietal

focusofitsmission.HowwillEBNimplementits

CSRambitionsandpolicystatementinpractice?The

answertothatquestionisthatwewillapplythe

followingfourprinciplesinourworkoverthenext

threeyears:

• wewillmakeEBN’sE&Pknowledgestructurally

availabletoourstakeholders,withoutjeopardising

theconfidentialityofcertaininformation;

• wewillmakeastructuralcontributiontooptimally

exploitingtheDutchsubsurface;

• wewilltailorourownoperationssoastomaintaina

balancebetweenpeople,planetandprofit;

• wewillpromotestaffawarenessofCSR.

InordertoachievetheseaimswehavesetaCSR

agenda,whichmakesadistinctionbetweenwhatis

mandatory,whatisrightandwhatisworthwhile.

• what is mandatory:thisincludesexternallyimposed

matters,suchaslegislation,butalsoexisting

agreementsandcontracts.

• what is right:thisincludesmattersthatare

collectivelydecidedbyEBN.Becauseweasagroup

considerthesemattersimportantandbecausewe

believethatintheseareasweshoulddomorethan

isprescribedbylaw.Examplesincludebehaving

respectfullywithintheorganisationorsponsoringa

charity.

• what is worthwhile:thisalsoincludesmatters

decidedonbytheorganisationitself,butwhere

ourresponseisdeterminedbystakeholders’

expectations.Forinstance,takingthewishesof

employees,licenceholders,customersorsuppliers

intoaccountmakesiteasierforustobuildgood

relationshipswiththem,andthushelpstocreate

addedvalueforEBN.


Whatismandatoryisalreadybeingimplemented

byEBNinagreementsandthroughoperating

proceduresandregulations,includingtheExecutive

BoardRules,theSupervisoryBoardRulesandthe

CodeofConduct.Thesedocumentsareavailableon

EBN’swebsite(www.ebn.nl).

‘Whatisright’and‘whatisworthwhile’represent

thevisiblepartoftheCSRagenda.Wehaveset

objectivesforeachlineofdevelopment,whilealso

indicatingwhatweneedtodotoachievethese

objectives.TheCSRagendaisalsoavailableon

www.ebn.nl.

What is mandatory, what is right and what is worthwhile…


Bytheendof2010,EBNwillhaveitsorganisation

fully‘inplace’andwillbeequippedtoachieveits

substantialambitions.Thepast50yearshave

demonstratedtheimportanceofgasproductionfor

Dutchsocietyasawhole.EBNaimstoensurethat

wecancontinuebenefitingfromthisproductionover

thenext50years.Notonlybecauseproductionfrom

Groningenwilldefinitelycontinueforthatlong,but

alsobecausetherearesmallfieldsthatstillcontain

largeamountsofgas.Aspartnerinexplorationand

productionandastheMinister’sadvisor,EBNaimsto

createtheconditionsthatensurethehighestpossible

recoveryofthisgas.

Ourambitionfor2030istoproduce30billioncubic

metresfromsmallfieldsintheNetherlandseachyear.

Thiswillhelptosecuretheenergysupply,aswellas

providingamajorboosttotheDutcheconomyand

representingaconsiderablesourceofrevenuefor

theState.

Gaswillalsoplayamajorroleinthetransitiontoa

sustainableenergysupply.Fossilfuelswillremain

indispensablethiscenturyinordertomeetdemand,

andgasisnotonlythecleanest,butalsothemost

flexiblefossilfuel.Gascanmakeamajorcontribution

duringthetransitiontosustainableenergyresources

Outlook


suchassolarandwindpower,bothofwhichdepend

onweatherconditions.EBNisalsoseekingtosmooth

thetransitiontoasustainableenergysupplyinother

waysby,forinstance,contributingtodesigningthe

infrastructureforCO2storageandexaminingthe

scopeforthelarge-scaleapplicationofgeothermal

energyasapowersource.

EBNexpectstobeabletomaintainthecurrenthigh

investmentlevelsoverthenextfewyears.Thesewill

requireinvestmentsinexplorationforandproduction

ofoilandgasorindevelopmentofstoragesfacilities,

butcertainlyalsoindevelopingtheknowledgeand

technologyneededtomaintainDutchgasreservesin

thelongerterm.

Thenextfewyears’resultsareexpectedtobe

comparabletothe2009results.Theoversupplyinthe

Europeangasmarketwillcontinueforsometime,and

sopriceswillremainunderpressure.However,this

pricelevelstillallowsagoodreturnoninvestmentfor

EBN’scurrentandnewactivities.Halfwaythroughthe

nextdecadeashifttoatightermarketisexpected,

withcorrespondinglybetterreturns(highervolumes

andhigherprices)similartothoseseenpriorto

2009.Topostponeinvestmentsnowwouldonly

aggravatetheexpectedshortagesandpossiblyleadto

bottlenecksinsupplyinthefuture.

EBNexpectstobeanattractiveemployerforcurrent

andpotentialstaffmembers.Ourhighambitions,

thesocietalrelevanceofouractivities,ourflexible

conditionsofemploymentandthedevelopment

opportunitiesweofferwerethereasonswhysome

twenty-fivepeoplechoosetojoinEBNduringthe

yearunderreview.And,astheoutlookoutlinedabove

indicates,thatwillnotchangeoverthecomingyears.

Alongsideitsownrecruitmentandselectionpolicy,

EBNalsoseekstointerestyoungpeopleinworking

intheoilandgasindustryingeneralandcontributes

totheirtraininganddevelopment.Thatiswhyweare,

forinstance,apartnerintheGroningenEnergyDelta

Institute.Soitcutsbothways.Weinvestinpeopleand

alsointheknowledgeneededtokeeptheoilandgas

industrydynamicandinnovativeandstrengthenthe

currentleadingpositionoftheNetherlands.

Theorganisation’sstrongfinancialposition,wide

knowledgeofandinvolvementinDutchoilandgas

explorationandproductionactivities,combinedwith

itsincreasingcapabilities,meanEBNwillcreateadded

valueforitsstakeholders,bothpublicandprivate,over

thecomingyears.


Financial statements

TheSupervisoryBoardhasexaminedtheannual

report,thefinancialstatementsandtheauditors’

reportofErnst&Young.TheSupervisoryBoardagrees

withtheaforementionedreportsandstatementsand

recommendsthattheGeneralMeetingofShareholders

adoptsthefinancialstatementsaccordingly.

Activities of the Supervisory Board

TheSupervisoryBoardsatisfiestheindependence

criteriaandprofilethathavebeenapprovedbythe

shareholder,asstipulatedinarticle12.2oftheArticles

ofAssociation.

ThechairmanoftheSupervisoryBoardisthefirstpoint

ofcontactforEBN’sExecutiveBoard.TheSupervisory

Boardhascollectiveresponsibility.Allmembersofthe

SupervisoryBoardarealsomembersoftheremuneration

andauditcommittees.Theremunerationandselection

committeeshavebeencombinedandarereferredto

astheremunerationcommittee.Gert-JanKrameristhe

chairmanoftheremunerationcommittee,whileArnold

GratamavanAndelchairstheauditcommittee.

TheSupervisoryBoardmetfourtimesin2009.AllBoard

membersattendedallthemeetings.TheSupervisory

BoardapprovedvariousdecisionsoftheExecutive

Board,includingthedecisionstoinvestindeveloping

theK5-CUfield,theQ13a-Amstelfield,theB13-A

fieldandtheBergermeerstorage-facilityproject.

Inaddition,theSupervisoryBoarddiscussedthe

followingissues:updatingtheStrategicLong-termPlan,

financialreturn-on-investmentcriteriatobeadopted

byEBN,embeddingofnon-publictasksintheEBN

organisationanddesigningtheannualassessmentof

financialperformance.DevelopmentsintheGasgebouw

partnershipwerediscussedattwoofthemeetings.

TheExecutiveBoardandSupervisoryBoardjointly

paidaworkingvisittotheredevelopmentofNAM’s

Schoonebeekoilfield.

TheSupervisoryBoarddiscussedtheperformanceof

thetwoboardsatameetingthatwasnotattended

bytheExecutiveBoard.TheSupervisoryBoard

membersRudyvanderMeerandArnoldGratamavan

AndelresignedattheGeneralShareholders’Meeting

inaccordancewiththescheduleforresignationby

rotation.BothSupervisoryBoardmemberswere

reappointedforafurtherfour-yearperiod.The

SupervisoryBoardmembersGert-JanKramerand

HeinvanOorschotwillresignin2010andbothare

eligibleforreappointment.

ReportoftheSupervisoryBoard


EventhoughtheCorporateGovernanceCodeis

notapplicable–EBNisnotlistedonthestock

exchange–EBNconformstotheCode.Elsewhere

inthisannualreport,theprincipleswithtoEBN

conformsareoutlined.

Audit committee

Theauditcommitteemettwicein2009.TheExecutive

Boardattendedbothmeetings,whiletheexternal

auditors,Ernst&Young,attendedoneofthem.During

themeetings,theauditcommitteereviewedtheannual

report,financialstatementsandtheauditforthe

year2008,thefundingplanandcreditfacilities,the

cash-flowforecast,theindependenttreasuryactivities,

riskmanagementandtheassessmentofthefinancial

returnsofvariousinvestmentprojectsapprovedbythe

SupervisoryBoard.

Remuneration committee

Theremunerationcommitteemetoncein2009.Asof

1January2009,twomembersoftheExecutiveBoard

wereemployedbyEBN,whilethethirdmemberhad

aformalemploymentcontractwithDSMandwas

secondedbyDSMtotheEBNExecutiveBoard.

SupervisoryBoard,Utrecht,31March2010

R.M.J.vanderMeer(Chairman)

A.H.P.GratamavanAndel

G-J.Kramer

H.M.C.M.vanOorschot

Scheduleforresignationbyrotation

Dateoffirstappointment Dateofreappointment Endof4-yearsterm

R.M.J.vanderMeer 1January2006 2009 2013

A.H.P.GratamavanAndel 1January2006 2009 2013

G-J.Kramer 1January2006 - 2010

H.M.C.M.vanOorschot 1January2006 - 2010


Wegreatlyvalueanactivedialoguewithourstakeholders;especiallyassuchmajorinterestsareatstake.

Peo

ple


“EBNpeopleareentrepreneurialprofessionals:

enthusiasticandenterprisingpeoplewhosee

opportunitiesandfocusondevelopment.

Theyknowtheirspecialisedfieldsandhave

goodcommunicationskills.”

17 | Section2-People

CommutingbetweenHeerlenandUtrecht

“Fitslikeaglove”.ThatishowJosjeZwolsmandescribesherjobatEBN,whereshehasbeensinceMarch2009.Sheis

veryhappyasanHRadvisor,eventhoughshehashadtodealwithsometoughassignments.Sheiscloselyinvolvedin

thetransitionoftheEBNorganisationfromHeerlentoUtrecht.Thismovewillhaveafar-reachingimpactonallHeerlen

employees,whowillseetheirofficeclosedownattheendof2010.Josjeisalsohelpingbuildtheneworganisationin

Utrecht,wherestaffnumbersrosefrom61inMarch2009to79bytheendoftheyear.TheHRdepartmentwasinvolvedin

2009inensuringthatworkinHeerlenisbroughttoasmoothcloseandinbuildingaforward-lookingorganisationinUtrecht.

Good employment practices

TheHRdepartmentfocusesonpeople.HowdidJosje

putCSRintopracticeinthepastyear?“CSRincludes

thingslikegoodemploymentpractices,”saysJosje.

“WhencounsellingpeopleinHeerlen,thismeans,for

instance,remaininginvolved,communicatingclearly

andhavingagoodsocialplan.Ihavehadlotsoftalks

withourHeerlenemployees,alwaysinconsultation

withtheirimmediatesuperiorsandDSM’sHRstaff.

ForsomepeopleinHeerlen,retirementorearly

retirementisinsight,whileotherswillmovewithus

toUtrecht.Wemakeagreementswiththemon,for

instance,reimbursingtheirmovingexpensesifthey

wanttomove,oronachievingabalancebetweentheir

professionalandprivatelivesiftheywanttocontinue

livinginthesouthofthecountry.Forthethirdgroup,

wearelookingforotherjobsinLimburg,eitherwithinor

outsideDSM.Wearedoingourutmosttofindjobsfor

everybody,eventhoughthatisnotexactlyeasy,given

theriseinunemployment.”

Sustainable development

CSRalsomeansinvestinginsustainablestaff

development.Thatisaparticularlyimportantaspect

ofbuildingtheUtrechtorganisation.AsJosje

Zwolsmansays,“Wehavecarefullyconsideredwhat

typeofpeoplewewouldliketorecruit.EBNpeople

areentrepreneurialprofessionals:enthusiasticand

enterprisingpeoplewhoseeopportunitiesandfocus

ondevelopment.Theyknowtheirspecialisedfields

andhavegoodcommunicationskills.Luckilywehave

beenabletorecruitmanypeoplejustlikethat.Now

weareinvestingintheirprofessionaldevelopmentby,

forexample,settinguptheEBNAcademy,anin-house

trainingprogrammeandinbuildinganorganisationthat

operatesandworkstogetherasasingleunit.Wemade

agoodstartin2009andwillbuildonthesefoundations

in2010.Wewillalsobeintensifyingourtransition

effortsasthefinalclosureofourHeerlenofficeis

approachingfast!”

Interview with Josje Zwolsman


EnergieBeheerNederlandB.V.(EBN)isaprivate

limitedcompanyincorporatedunderDutchlaw.EBN

isanindependentcompany,withtheDutchStateas

thesoleshareholder.EBN’sobjectiveistoperform

activitiesdesignedtoimplementtheMinisterof

EconomicAffairs’energypolicy,specificallyinrespect

ofaresponsibleexploitationoftheDutchmineral

resourcesandsubsurface.EBN’sExecutiveBoard

reportstoanindependentSupervisoryBoard.EBN

doesnotmaintainfinancialreserves;theentirenet

resultispaidouttotheState.

EBNisactiveintheexplorationforandproductionof

oilandgasintheNetherlands.EBNdoesnotengage

inanyactivitiesoutsidethecountry.Inaccordancewith

theMiningAct,theDutchStatehasarighttostipulate

StateparticipationbyEBNwhengrantingaproduction

licence.Whengrantinganexplorationlicence,the

licenceholdermayrequestEBNtoparticipate.In

practicethisparticipationisvirtuallyalwaysrequested.

Asaresult,EBNisinvolvedin170jointventureswith

variousinternationallyoperatingoilcompanies.

Agreementsbetweenjointventurepartiesarerecorded

inseparateagreementsofcooperation.EBNisa

co-investorinthesejointventures,withoneofthe

participatingoilcompanies(theoperator)being

responsiblefortheactualoperations.Inmostcases,

EBNhasa40%interest.

Inadditiontothesejointventures,EBNhasinterests

infourgas-storagefacilities(oneofwhichisstillunder

construction),infiveoffshoregatheringlines,inthe

EmmenGasPurificationPlantandinGasTerra.The

interestsinGasTerraandinthreepipelinesareheld

byseparateprivatelimitedcompanies,whileallthe

otherinterestsareheldincontractualjointventures

withothercompanies.EBN’sgroupstructureis

shownbelow:

Organisation

Energie Beheer Nederland B.V.

GasTerra B.V.(40%)

Nogat B.V.(45%)

177 joint ventures

F3/A6 Extensie B.V.(100%)

K13 Extensie Beheer B.V. (100%)


Shareholder

UnderEBN’sArticlesofAssociation,sharesinEBN

canonlybeheldbytheStateoftheNetherlands

(directlyorindirectly).Managementisentrustedtothe

MinistryofEconomicAffairs(MEA).EBNhasregular

informalconsultationswiththeMEA.OneGeneral

MeetingofShareholderswasheldin2009.

Theshareholderappointsexternalauditors.Ernst&

Youngwereappointedin2009toauditEBN’sannual

financialstatementsfortheyears2009,2010and2011.

Theauditors’performanceisevaluatedperiodically.

Supervisory Board

EBNhashadaSupervisoryBoardsince1January

2006.TheshareholderappointstheSupervisoryBoard

andthechairmanofthisBoard.TheSupervisoryBoard

hascollectiveresponsibilityforsupervisingthepolicy

oftheExecutiveBoardandgeneraldevelopmentsin

thecompany.AllmembersoftheSupervisoryBoard

performtheirdutiesfullyindependentlywithouta

mandatefromacompany,authorityororganisation.

TheSupervisoryBoardhasdrawnupasetofrules

governingitsactivities,aswellasaprofiledescription,

bothofwhichhavebeenapprovedbytheshareholder.

TheSupervisoryBoardisresponsibleforthequalityof

itsownperformanceandforperiodicallyevaluatingit.

TheSupervisoryBoardhasadoptedrulesgoverning

theactivitiesofSupervisoryDirectors.

EBN’sSupervisoryBoardremainedunchangedin

2009.ThemembersoftheSupervisoryBoardareRudy

vanderMeer(chairman),ArnoldGratamavanAndel,

Gert-JanKramerandHeinvanOorschot.Additional

informationonthemembersoftheSupervisoryBoard

canbefoundontheEBNwebsite(www.ebn.nl).

Theauditcommitteeandtheremunerationcommittee

performtheirdutiesinaccordancewiththeregulations

adoptedbytheSupervisoryBoard.

AllthemembersoftheSupervisoryBoardaremembers

oftheauditcommittee,whichischairedbyArnold

GratamavanAndel.Theauditcommitteeadvisesthe

SupervisoryBoardonthefinancialstatementsandon

supervisinginternalriskmanagementsystemsandthe

provisionoffinancialinformation,aswellasonfunding,

ICTapplicationsanddatasystems.

Theremunerationcommitteeconsistsofallthemembers

oftheSupervisoryBoardandischairedbyGert-Jan

Kramer.Theremunerationcommitteepreparesareport

ontheremunerationpolicyformembersoftheExecutive

Board.Thecommitteemakesaproposalforthe

remunerationoftheExecutiveBoardmembers,based

ontheremunerationpolicyapprovedbytheshareholder.

Forefficiencyreasons,theremunerationcommitteealso

actsasrecruitmentandappointmentcommittee.

Executive Board

EBN’sExecutiveBoardremainedunchangedin2009.

TheExecutiveBoardconsistsofthreemembers,in

accordancewiththeArticlesofAssociation:JanDirk

Bokhoven(chairman),JoostHaenen(commercial

director)andDickRoest(financialdirector).The


ExecutiveBoardisresponsibleformanagingthe

companyanddeterminingpolicy.TheExecutiveBoard

hasdrawnupExecutiveBoardRules.Additional

informationontheExecutiveBoardmemberscanbe

foundontheEBNwebsite(www.ebn.nl).

InprincipletheExecutiveBoardmeetseveryweek

todiscusspolicyandoperationalissuesandtotake

decisions.Ifnecessary,decisionsaresubmittedtothe

SupervisoryBoardand/ortheshareholderforapproval,

inaccordancewiththeArticlesofAssociation.The

ExecutiveBoardiscollectivelyresponsibleforthepolicy

implemented.EachmemberoftheExecutiveBoardhas

specificareasofresponsibility.

TheArticlesofAssociationrequirethecompanytobe

representedbyatleasttwomembersoftheExecutive

Board.TheExecutiveBoardmayalsodelegate

managersorotheremployeestorepresentthe

company.Permanentauthorisationsareregisteredwith

theChamberofCommerceandhavetobeapproved

bytheSupervisoryBoard.Specificauthorisations,for

exampleprojectapprovals,arediscussedbeforehand

withthemanagersconcerned.

Organisation chart

EBNhasamatrixorganisation.Knowledgeand

experienceinvariousareasaregroupedtogetherin

variousmanagement-supportdepartments,while

EBN’sjointventuresareorganisedalongbusinesslines.

Business-linemanagersmanagethejointventures

andreporttotheExecutiveBoard.Theyformteams

consistingofpeoplefromvariousmanagementsupport

departmentswithvaryingbackgroundsandexpertise,

whotogetherprepareproposalsthataresubmitted

totheExecutiveBoardforapproval.Theseproposals

coveravarietyoftopics,rangingfromtheevaluationof

investmentprojectstothesaleofhydrocarbons.

Organisationchart

shareholder

supervisory board

chairman executive board

commercial director �nancial director

gasgebouw business lineexploration & production business lines

�nance & economics

treasury

ict

commercial department

support

personnel & organisatiion

technical department

legal department

communication


ThepeopleofEBN

Increasing professionalism

EBN’semployeesareitsmostimmediatestakeholders.

Theycontributeknowledge–oftenofahighly

specialisednature–thatenablesEBNtoaddvalueto

allitsparticipations.Theydosowithapassionforthe

intricaciesofthejobandenthusiasmforthecollaboration

withotherpartieseitherwithinoroutsideEBNandare

motivatedbythepublicinterestservedbyEBN.

Ouremployeescanonlydotheirjobswellin

aprofessionalenvironmentwithproperbasicfacilities.

Thesefacilitieswerefurtherimprovedin2009,alongwith

theeffortsundertakentoincreasetheprofessionalismof

theEBNorganisation.Oneoftheactivitiesundertaken

inthisrespectduringtheyearunderreviewinvolved

establishingourowncompetencysystem.Wenow

operateonthebasisofthefollowingcorecompetencies:

• cooperation;

• result-orientation;

• responsibility.

Oneofthewayswefocusedonthesecompetencies

duringtheyearwasbyorganisingtwojointtraining

daysforallEBNemployees.Thethemesofthesedays

were‘cooperation’and‘givingandreceivingfeedback’.

Thetrainingdayswerealsoagoodopportunityto

involvethemanynewemployeesincreatingourown

EBNculture.

EBN’sCSRtargetscontributetoageneralsenseof

satisfactionandprideamongouremployees.Theyare

theoneswhohelpenableEBNtoachievetheposition

ithassetforitself.Specificactivitiesundertakeninthe

personnelsectorinclude:

• EBN’sdecisiontoanchorCSRinitsorganisation

throughitsformalprogrammestructure.These

activitiesaresupportedbytheCSRcommittee,

whichadvisestheExecutiveBoard,andby

employeesareinvitedtoproposeinitiativesdesigned

toincreaseCSRawarenessintheorganisation.

• EBN’sdecisiontoalignitscodeofconductwith

the3Pbalanceandtoactivelypromotethiscode.

Dilemmaswillbesharedandevaluatedtogether.

• EBNinvolvingitsemployeesstructurallyin

discussionsonthebestpossibleuseofthe

Dutchsubsurface.

• EBNofferingseveralinternships.


Numberofemployees

Education

Many vacancies filled…

EBNstaffnumbersincreasedconsiderablyin2009.In

early2009,EBNhad61employees,whilethisnumber

hadincreasedto79bytheendoftheyear.Atotal

of25newemployeeswererecruitedduringtheyear

underreview.ThenewUtrechtAccounting&Reporting

teamwassetupandwillreplacetheHeerlenteam

inearly2010.ATreasurydepartmenthasalso

beenestablishedandwillstartperformingtreasury

activitiesthatarenowsub-contracted.Atotalofseven

employeesleftthecompanyin2009,includingsome

fromtheHeerlenofficewhofoundotherjobsortook

earlyretirement.

FemaleMale

20

40

60

80

100

20072005 2006 2008 2009

30

15

39

18

43

18

42

19

52

27

20

40

60

80

100

20072005 2006 2008 2009

UniversityIntermediateHigher level

21

14

10

30

10

17

10

17

34 35

11

15

15

19

45


Absencethroughillness

Agedistribution

Asinpreviousyears,themajorityofEBNemployees

areuniversitygraduates.Mostotheremployeeshave

intermediate(MBO)orhigher-levelqualifications(HBO).

ThenumberoffemaleEBNemployeesincreasedfrom

19(31%)in2008to27(34%)in2009,11ofwhomare

universitygraduates.Around40%oftheemployees

workpart-time.

Asaresultofthenewstaffrecruited,theaverage

ageofemployeesfellto43.5years.Illness-related

absenteeismdecreasedfrom3.4%in2008to2.4%

in2009.

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

20072005 2006 2008 2009

3,4%2,1% 1,5% 2,3% 2,4%

20

40

60

80

100

20072005 2006 2008 2009

55 - 6435 - 4445 - 54

< 2425 - 34

11

9

14

19

8

18

14

18

19

23

19

17

9

19

15

16

12

14

17


Investing in training

Inearly2009wedrewupindividualdevelopmentplans

forouremployees.Atotalof400man-dayswere

spentontrainingactivities.Withinsixmonthsofjoining,

everynewemployeemustcompleteanintroductoryor

trainingcourseontheMiningAct,competitivetrading

legislation,theoilandgasindustry,theuseofspecific

softwareandinternalhealthandsafetyissues.

Moving towards one location

EBN’sHeerlenofficewillclosedownpermanently

on31December2010.Manydiscussionswereheld

withemployeesdirectlyinvolvedinthisprocessin

2009.Managers,theHRdepartmentandDSM’s

HRcolleagues–obviouslyincloseconsultation

withtheindividualstaffmembers–aretogether

workingonplansforthefutureoftheseemployees.

Someemployeeswillretire,whilewearelookingfor

alternativeemploymentforothers.Staffmemberswho

haveoptedtocontinuebeingemployedbyEBNwill

havespecificrelocationexpensesreimbursed.

Works Council

EBN’sWorksCouncilremainedunchangedin2009.

TheWorksCouncilconsistsoffivemembers:Christel

Hartkamp-Bakker(Chair),JoBeusen(Secretary),

MartinBoubin,JohnvanEngelenandEdRamakers.

TheWorksCouncilandExecutiveBoardcooperated

increasinglyintensivelyduring2009,withsix

consultativemeetingsbeingheldbetweentheCouncil

andrepresentativesoftheExecutiveBoard.The

SupervisoryBoardattendedoneofthesemeetings.

Awiderangeofissueswasdiscussedatthemeetings.

ThemovefromHeerlentoUtrechtwasdiscussed

atvirtuallyeverymeeting,thusenablingtheWorks

Counciltokeepacloseeyeonitsprogress.

TheHRdepartmentevaluatedtheannualHRpolicy

cycleinliaisonwiththeWorksCouncil.Thisresulted

insomeadjustmentstoandclarificationofthecycle

inrespect,forinstance,ofthetimingofdecidingon

employees’developmentplans.TheWorksCouncil

alsoadvisedpositivelyonissuessuchasthenew

competencyprofilesandonchangestotheEBN

organisationinrespectofexploration,thecommercial

departmentandtheGasgebouwbusinessline.

Aswellasexaminingorganisationalissues,theWorks

Councilalsoconsideredvariousorganisationalpolicies,

includingtheproposeddecisiontoinvestinthe

Bergermeergas-storagefacility.TheWorksCouncil

hasagreedtoEBN’sparticipationinthismajorproject.


Externalstakeholders

Active dialogue

Inonewayoranother,EBNisrepresentedinvirtually

everypartofthegaschain:fromgasexploration

rightthroughtogassalestowholesalersandmajor

customers.EventhoughEBNisnottheoperator

inanyoftheseactivities,itfeelsresponsibleforthe

performanceoftheseactivities.EBNregularlyconsults

withoperatorsonissuessuchassafety,environment

andenergyefficiency.Asyet,therearenostructured

consultationsonhowtheoperatingcompanies

manageimplementCSRandhowtheissueof

differentresponsibilitiesshouldbeaddressed.

EBNoperatesattheinterfaceofcommercialactivities

andpublicinterests.Togetherwithourpartnerswe

investhugesums–inexcessof1.5billioneurosin

2009–intheexplorationforandproductionofoil

andgasandinotherprojects.Wearedoingsoon

thebasisofourpublictaskarisingundertheMining

Actandinthiswaycontributetoasecureand

cleanenergysupply.Ourinvestmentsalsogenerate

substantialrevenuesfortheDutchState.EBN’s

paymentsamountedto5.2billioneurosin2009.

Anactivedialoguewithourstakeholdersisinvaluable

inourwork,preciselybecausesuchmajorinterests

areatstake.

EBNhasauniquepositionintheDutchE&Pindustry.

Wearethefocalpointatwhichinformationon

developmentsintheDutchE&Pindustrycomes

togetherfrommanydifferentparties,including

operators,partners,StateSupervisionofMines,

TNOandtheMinistryofEconomicAffairs.This

givesEBNagoodoverviewofdevelopmentsand

currentevents.

WewanttomakethisE&Pknowledgeavailableina

prudentwayby,forinstance,sharing‘bestpractices’

withrelevantparties.Inthatway,wecancontribute

toanattractiveminingclimateandtomaximumand

sustainableexplorationandproduction.Somespecific

examplesofouractivitiesinthisrespectare:

• thevariousdialoguesorganisedwithstakeholders

inthesectortoenableustoascertainthetypeof

knowledgerequiredandestablishhowwecanmeet

thatdemand.

• thehelpdeskthatwillbeestablishedin2010sothat

ourpartners,inparticularnewcompanies,canget

helpiftheyhavequestionsonissuessuchasthe

small-fieldspolicyorlicensingprocedures.

• thepresentationsregularlygivenbyEBNstaff

membersatrelevantplatforms:atotaloften

presentationsweregivenin2009.


Inlate2008weaskedanumberofourstakeholders

whattheythoughtofEBN.Theindependentmarket-

researchagencyIntegronconducted38interviews

with23differentoilcompaniesonourbehalfand

summarisedandanalysedtheresultsofthissurvey

inearly2009.

Allpartiesactivelyinvolvedingasproductioninthe

Netherlandsreceivedfeedbackonthefindingsofthis

surveyduringanannualmeetingorganisedbyEBN.

Thepeopleinterviewedalsoreceivedletterslistingthe

mainfindingsofthissurvey.Thesewerethat:

• businesspartnerswouldlikeEBNtocontributemore

substantiallytojointventures,notjusttogatherdata;

• EBNshouldcommunicateitsownroleandactivities

betterandmoreclearly;

• EBNshouldbemorepro-activeandrespondmore

quickly;

• partnerswereconcernedaboutwhattheyperceived

asalackofexperienceamongmanynewEBN

employees.

EBNimmediatelystartedaddressinganumber

ofthesefindingsby,forinstance,comparingthe

operationalexpensesofplatformsfortheyear2008

andalsocomparingtheseexpenseswiththeresults

ofprevioussurveys.Thiscomparisonshowedthat

operationalexpenseshadrisensharplysince2003,

andinsomecasesalmostdoubled.Thisisan

alarmingtrend,certainlygiventhedecreasing

levelsofproductionandaginginfrastructure.

EBNplanstorepeatthissurveyannually.


EBNalsoorganiseddiscussionsessionswith

stakeholders,wherethetopicsdiscussedwere

formulatedintheformofdilemmas:

• publicinterestversuseconomicinterest;

• needfor‘small’companiesversusriskofspreading

resourcestoothinly;

• confidentialityversusthewishtoshareexperience

andinformation;

• whenisafielddepleted?

Thesediscussionswereattendedbyrepresentatives

ofCirrusEnergy,Ernst&Young,Gasunie,theMinistry

ofFinance,theMinistryofEconomicAffairs,NAM,

StateSupervisionofMinesandEBNitself.The

participantswereenthusiasticaboutthediscussion

topicsandmeetingformat.EBNwillcontinueand

expandtheseandotherdialoguesinthecomingyears.

EBN’smainstakeholdersarelistedbelow.

Licence holders

Licenceholdersarecompaniesthathavereceived

permissionfromtheDutchgovernmenttoexplore

forandproduceoilorgas.Invirtuallyallcases,they

havecooperationagreementswithEBNforthelicence

concerned.EBNandthelicenceholdermeetatleast

threetimesayeartodiscussjointpoliciesonoperational

andtechnicalissues,aswellastoapproveoperational

plansandrelatedbudgetsforeachjointventure.

TheNetherlandsOilandGasExplorationand

ProductionAssociation,NOGEPA,promotesthe

interestsofcompaniesholdinglicencesinthe

Netherlandsfortheexplorationorproductionofoil

andgas.EBNisnotamemberofNOGEPA,but

cooperatescloselywiththisorganisationbecauseof

themanycommoninterests.Moreinformationcanbe

foundonwww.nogepa.nl.

Government

TheMinistryofEconomicAffairs,beingthe

shareholderandpolicymaker,isanimportant

stakeholderforEBN.TheMinistryisresponsiblefor

policy,legislationandlicensingintheenergysector.

Itsmainpolicyobjectivesare:

• optimisingthestructuringofenergymarkets;

• assuringsecurityofsupplyintheshortand

longterm;

• makingtheenergyeconomymoresustainable.


Inthespecificcaseofnaturalgas,theMEAseeksto

ensuremaximumgasproductioninthelongterm,with

optimalrevenuesforsociety.Inaccordancewithits

mission,EBNcontributestoimplementingthispolicy.

TheMEApublishesanannualreviewofthecompanies

andtheirexplorationandproductionactivitiesin

theNetherlands.Thesereviewsareavailableon

theoilandgasportalwww.nlog.nl.TheMEAand

EBNfrequentlyconsultinformally.Inaddition,the

ExecutiveBoardandthechairmanoftheSupervisory

BoardmeettheDirectorGeneraloftheMEAonce

ayeartocoordinatepolicyandtodiscussstrategic

issues.Moreinformationcanbefoundonwww.ez.nl.

TheMinistryofFinance,beingthereceiveroftaxes

andotherpayments,isanothermajorstakeholderof

EBN.TheMinistryalsoissuesdirectivesoncorporate

socialresponsibilityforStateparticipationsandsets

theannualtransparencybenchmark.Moreinformation

canbefoundonwww.minfin.nl.

EBNregularlycooperateswithTNOB&Ospecifically

withtheoilandgasadvisorygroup.Thisincludes

providingjointadvicetotheMEAonproduction

licences.Moreinformationcanbefoundon

www.tno.nl.

EBNalsocooperateswiththeStateSupervision

ofMines(Dutchacronym:SodMforStaatstoezicht

opdeMijnen),whichisthestateinspectorateand

responsibleforsupervisingalltheactivitiesinvolvedin

mineralexplorationandproduction.Itskeyconcerns

aresafety,health,environment,productionefficiency,

subsidenceandearthtremors.Moreinformationon

thiscanbefoundonwww.sodm.nl.

Customers

EBNseekstomaintainsustainableandmutually

profitablerelationshipswithbuyersofgas,oiland

condensate.ThisparticularlyappliestoGasTerra,

notonlybecausethelatterisEBN’sprincipalcustomer,

butalsobecauseEBNowns40%oftheGasterra

shares.In2009,asmallproportionofgaswassoldto

othercompanies,suchasGDFSuezGlobalGasand

LNGbrancheandStatoilHydroASA.Thecondensate

thataccompaniesgasproduction,wassoldtoSabic

andPetrochemCarlessin2009.OilfromtheDeRuyter

fieldwassoldduringtheyeartovariouscompanies

thatoperaterefineries,includingShell,Conoco,

PetroplusandTotal.


Suppliers

Themainserviceprovidersarelawfirmsandauditors.

Intheyearunderreview,EBNusedErnst&Young,

DeloitteandKPMGforfinancialservices,whilelegal

serviceswereprovidedbye.g.Allen&Overyand

Loyens&Loeff.

Whenpurchasinggeneralfacility-management

servicesandofficesuppliesforourUtrechtoffice,

weincreasinglyconsiderwhethertheseproducts

meetCSRcriteria.

Professional organisations

EBNactivelysupportsseveralprofessional

organisations.ItsponsorsClingendaelInternational

EnergyProgramme,athink-tankforgeopolitical

issues,aswellastheEnergyDeltaInstitute,atraining

andknowledgeinstituteforthegasindustry.

EBNalsosponsorsseveralsmallandlarge

organisationsthatpromotepublicinvolvementintheoil

andgasindustryandencourageresearchinthisarea.

EBNhaspledged,forinstance,tohelpfundanew

themeroom,focusingonthedeepsubsurface,atthe

Museon,apopular-sciencemuseuminTheHague.

Great Gas & Oil board game: informative and supporting charity…EBNdevelopedtheGreat�Gas�&�Oil�board�gamein

2009asafunwayforpeopleofallagestogetto

knowtheactivitiesinvolvedintheDutchoilandgas

industry.Thegame,whichhasbeendistributed

amongDutchhospitalswithchildren’swards,can

alsobeorderedfromEBN.Proceedsgotocharity.


EBNalwaysseekstomaximisethesociallyresponsiblereturnonitsexplorationandproductionactivities.

Pla

net


“CSRmeansmuchmorethanusinggreenpower,

travellingbytrainorusinglesspaperforprinting.”

33 | Section3-Planet

Added value

HowcanEBNcontributetoCSRinrespectof‘planet’

aspects?AsFloorexplains,“EBNparticipatesinmany

jointventures.Thisuniquepositionmeanswehavea

lotofexpertiseandinformation.Ouraddedvalueis

insharingthatexpertiseandinformationandmaking

itmoreaccessible.Wealsocarryoutstudiesanddo

research.In2009,forinstance,wepublishedastudy

comparingoffshoreoperationalexpensesofspecific

operatorswiththeindustryaverage.Understanding

thatcomparisoncanhelpachievecostsavings,which

willmakegasproductionmoreprofitableandenable

ustobenefitfromthisrelativelycleansourceofenergy

forlonger.Our‘FocusonDutchGas’reportresulted

inadebateonunconventionalgasresources.We

arealsocollaboratinginstudiesonCO2Captureand

Storage(CCS),instudieslookingattheapplicationof

geothermalenergyandasapartnerintheBergermeer

gas-storage-facilityproject.Alltheseshowhowweare

implementingourtargetofmakingoptimaluseofthe

Dutchsubsurface.”

CSR awareness

HasFloornoticedagrowingCSRawarenessamong

EBNstaff?“Overthepastyear,everybodyhasbeen

involvedintheCSRprojectthrough,forinstance,a

questionnaireandapresentation.Thesehavehelped

increaseawareness.CSRisatopicthatisnowbeing

discussedatlunch.Ouraimiscertainlytoincrease

awareness,alsoincooperationwithourpartners.CSR

meansmuchmorethanusinggreenpower,travelling

bytrainorusinglesspaperforprinting,althoughthose

areallthingsthatwearedoingatEBN.Butyoualso

havetoexplaintheconsequencesofthecompany’s

activitiesforpeople,planetandprofit.Manynew

CSR-relatedactivitieswerestartedin2009.Andwe’re

goingtobeenthusiasticallypushingforwardalongthis

pathinthecomingyears!”

EBN’sactivitiesfocusoncreatingvalueintheareasofpeople,planetandprofitandincontributingtolong-termprosperity

insociety.EBN’srelationshipswithstakeholdersarebasedontransparencyandmutualinterest.EBNseekstofindaproper

balancebetweenpeople,planetandprofit.ThatisthecoreoftheCSRpolicystatementformulatedbyEBN’sExecutive

BoardinresponsetotheadviceoftheCSRprojectteamestablishedin2009.TheteamsetouttoembedCSRstructurally

intoallEBN’sactivities.Andnowwehavetoputthispolicystatementintopractice.FloorJansen,afacilityengineeratEBN,

iscloselyinvolvedinthisprocess,originallyasamemberandnowchairoftheCSRcommittee.

ManyCSR-relatedactivitiesstartedin2009

Interview with Floor Jansen


Ambitious and prudent

EBN’smissionistodevelopenergyresourcesand

exploitthedeepsubsurfaceinamannerthatisprofitable

toDutchsociety,withmaximumpossibleproductionof

oilandgasintheNetherlandsandoptimallong-term

revenuesfortheStatebeingparamount.

Wehavetranslatedourmissionintothreestrategic

objectives:

1.FirstlyEBNwishestoactivelymanagethecurrent

jointventures.Aswellaswantingtoknowexactly

whatisgoingonintherapidlyrisingnumberofjoint

ventures,thisalsomeanswantingtomaketheright

choiceswhendecidinghowtodeployourlimited

manpower.Thefocusmustremainonthosejoint

venturesandprojectswhereEBNcanaddvalue

and/orwhichbestservethegovernment’sinterests.

Wherevernecessary,EBNwillhelpgetprojectsoff

thegroundbyusingitsownexpertiseandmore

cost-effectivesolutionsitisawareof,aswellasby

pursuingsynergybetweendifferentprojectsand

makingexistinginfrastructurelastlonger.

2.Thesecondstrategicobjectiveistoensure

continuityintheexplorationforandproductionof

oilandgasintheNetherlands.ToEBN,thismeans

maintainingourreserves.Thisobviouslyallstarts

withexplorationintheexistinglicences,butalso

requiresmappingandevaluationofnewoilandgas

playsandprospects.Inthiscontext,EBNisalso

lookingatunconventionalgasresources,whichcan

befoundin,forinstance,shalesandcoallayersand

alsoatthetechnologicalinnovationsthatareneeded

tobringthatgasintoproductioninthefuture.

3.Thethirdstrategicobjectiveistoinvestigateother

possibleapplicationsofthesubsurface,including

storingnaturalgasorCO2oropportunitiesoffered

bygeothermalenergytoachieveasustainable

energysupply.

EBNseekstoachievetheseobjectivesby

conscientiouslyperformingitstasksandusingthe

positionassignedtothecompanyintheMiningAct.

WedothisincloseliaisonwiththeMEA,whichis

responsibleforsettingtheDutchenergypolicy.

ToachievetheaboveobjectivesEBNadherestothe

followingprinciples:

• explorationforandproductionofoilandgasare

tobecarriedoutbymarketparties.EBNseeks

tobeaprofessionalandfinanciallystrongpartner

inthis,eitherasastate-ownedentityorasa

commercialpartner.EBNwill,however,initiatenew

developmentsifapromisingprojectisotherwise

atriskofnotgettingofftheground.EBNdoesnot

itselfseektobeanoperator,anddoesnotwishto

positionitselfasacompetitoroftheoilcompanies;

• EBNwillonlyparticipateinactivitiesthatcontribute

toachievingitsmissionandthatcreatesynergy

withexistingactivitiesoratleastdonotconflictwith

them.EBNwillbuildonitsknowledgeoftheDutch

subsurfaceandtheexperienceofcooperationin

jointventuresavailablewithinitsownorganisation.

TheMinistry’spolicywillalwaysbethekeycriterion.

Wecanonlyperformeffectivelyifallthedifferent

stakeholderscanrelyonEBN.Toretainthattrust,it

Strategy


iscrucialforusontheonehandtobetransparent,

andontheotherhandtobeveryprudentintheway

wehandletheconfidentialinformationthatEBN

possessesasaresultofperformingitsvarioustasks.

InlinewiththeserequirementsEBNwillexaminehow

thedivisionbetweenpublictasksandcommercial

activitiescanbestbestructured.

KnowledgeofthesubsurfaceisEBN’score

competency.EBNemploysexpertswhohavethat

knowledge.AsaresultEBNhasacomprehensive

overviewoftheentireDutchsubsurface.Theadded

valueofthisknowledgeis,ontheonehand,theability

tooptimiseoilandgasproductionand,ontheother

hand,theabilitytodevelopalternativeapplications

inthesubsurface.EBNcontributes,forinstance,to

researchintoCO2storageindepletedgasfields.But

EBNcanalsoplayanimportantroleinissuessuch

asgeothermalenergyandinoptimisingCO2storage

inrelationtothefinalstagesofgasproductionfrom

afield.ThemainconsiderationforEBNatalltimes

ishowwecandealwithour‘planet’ascarefullyas

possible.Theactivitiesperformedtoputthisambition

intopracticeinclude:

• developingsustainabilitycriteriaforevaluatingE&P

projectproposals;

• developingatool,incooperationwithstakeholders,

tosupportdecisionsontacklingissuessuchas

depletedgasfieldsandexistinginfrastructure.


ThesmallgasfieldsintheDutchonshoreterritoryand

intheDutchpartofthecontinentalshelfcontinueto

playanimportantroleinthegovernment’snaturalgas

policy.Eversincethe1970sthegovernmenthasbeen

promotingthedevelopmentofgasfieldsotherthan

theGroningenfield.Obviously,theothergasfieldsare

muchsmallerthantheGroningenfield,buttogether

theyconstituteasubstantialadditiontoDutchnatural

gasreserves.

ThestructuresetupforproducingtheGroningenfield

wasalsousedasthebasisforcoordinatingproduction

fromthe‘smallfields’.Tothisend,thegovernment

devisedthe‘small-fieldspolicy’,whichstipulatesthat

gasfromsmallfieldsshouldtakepriorityovergasfrom

theGroningenfield.GasTerraisobliged,ifproducers

request,tobuygasfromsmallfieldsatmarketprices.

Asthisencouragescompaniestoproducegasfrom

smallfields,thesmall-fieldspolicycontributestoour

energysupplyandthehugerevenuesfromnaturalgas.

Byparticipatinginalargenumberofjointventures

(bynow181)withoilcompanies,EBNhasbeen

abletocontributetothesuccessofthesmall-fields

policy.EBNintendstopromotetheproductionofas

muchgasaspossiblefromsmallfieldsinthenextfew

decades,eventhoughitisbecomingmoredifficult

becauseoftheremainingfieldsbeingsmalleror

technicallymoredifficulttoproduce.Consequently,

EBN’sroleisabouttochange.

ParticipationinvirtuallyalllicencesoffersEBNa

helicopterview,whichenablesittohelpourpartners

totacklenewprojects.ThatiswhyEBNcarriedout

asurveytoexamineopportunitiesforproducing

‘unconventionalgas’,suchasgasfromcoalseams

orshaleformations.Maximumproductionofgas

fromourownsubsurfacewillalsomakeasignificant

contributiontoasecure,cleanandaffordableenergy

supply,aswellastotheDutcheconomy.

30 billion m3 in 2030…Beingthecleanestsourceoffossilfuel,natural

gasistheidealfuelforthetransitionperiodto

asustainableenergysupply.ThatiswhyEBN

hassetanannualproductiontargetby2030of

some30billionm3gasfromsmallfieldsinthe

Netherlands.ThiswaswhatJanDirkBokhoven

statedatthecelebrationstomarkNOGEPA’s35th

anniversaryon24September2009.Achieving

thisambitioustargetisextremelyimportantforthe

securityofsupply,fortheDutcheconomyandfor

societyasawhole.

Smallfields,greatimportance


Explorationandproduction

Social return

EBNalwaysseekstoachievethemaximumsocial

returninitsexplorationandproductionactivities.The

economicinterestsofeachprojectarecarefullyweighed

upagainsthealth,safetyandenvironment(HSE)criteria.

InpracticethismeansthatEBNseekstodeterminethe

optionfordevelopingaspecificgasoroilreservoirthat

willproducethehighestpossiblevolume.Thatisnot

alwaysthemosteconomicoption.EBNalwaysbases

itsdecisionondesigncriteriathatemphasiseHSE.

Evenmoresothaninthepast,EBNisnowseekingto

takethedegreesoffreedominthechoiceofequipment,

scalefactorsandenergyconsumptionintoaccount

whendecidingontheappropriatebalance.

Theperformanceofolderequipmentinmaturefields

inthefinalproductionphaseswillalsobeevaluatedin

thelightofthesenewcriteria.Whereverpossibleand

incooperationwiththeoperatorconcerned,EBNwill

investinmodificationstoachievegreatercompliance

withtheCSRtargets.

Wells

Drillingof31wellsinwhichEBNparticipatedwas

completedin2009:12explorationwells,4appraisal

wellsand15productionwells.Explorationwas

successfulinproving12newfields,withtotalestimated

reservesof16billionm3,whichcanbedevelopedin

thenextfewyears.A75%successrateforexploration

wellsisbetterthancanbestatisticallyexpected.

Reserves

Indeterminingitsreserves,EBNadoptsthedefinitions

laiddownin2007bytheSPE,WPC,AAPGandSPEE

inthePetroleumResourcesManagementSystem.

On31December2009,gasreserves(ona100%field

basis)inthefieldsinwhichEBNparticipatesamounted

to1,212billionm3Groningenequivalent(GE),ofwhich

EBNhasashare(directorindirect)of491billionm3

GE.Thismeansanetdecreaseof38billionm³GE

incomparisonwiththepositionat1January2009.

Thisdecreasewasattributabletotheproductionof

70billionm3GEfromfieldsinwhichEBNparticipates,

while32billionm3GEreserveswereadded.Wellover

80%ofthegasreservesarelocatedintheGroningen

field,whiletheremainderisheldinsmallonshoreand

offshorefields.

OilreservesintheoilfieldsinwhichEBNparticipates

amountedto21millionm3attheendof2009,which

wasapproximately4millionm3lowerthanattheend

of2008.


EBN’s(in)directshareinreserves

Production

In2009atotalof19fieldscameonstream(14offshore

and5onshore),resultinginwellover21billionm3

ofnewreservesbeingconnectedtotheDutchgas

mainsgrid.AspecialcaseistheGasselternijveengas

field,withahighH2Scontentgas.Thisfieldhasbeen

connectedtotheDrenthegas-purificationplant,where

sulphuriswashedfromthenaturalgas.Hookingup

thisnewfieldmeansthegas-purificationplantwill

remainprofitableformuchlonger,thusalsoenabling

othernearbyfieldstoremaininproduction.

CumulativeproductioninwhichEBNhasashare

amountedin2009toapproximately70billionm3.

EBN’ssharefromsmallfieldswas14billionm3,while

itssharefromtheGroningenfieldwas15billionm3.

ProductionfromtheGroningenfieldinparticular

waslowerthaninpreviousyears.Thisdeclineis

notstructural,butinsteadtheresultoftherelatively

warmwinterandspringof2009andthefactthat

theeconomiccrisistriggeredageneralfallin

demandforgasintheNetherlandsandother

countries.Becausetherateofproductionfrom

smallfieldsremainedapproximatelythesameas

inpreviousyears,productionfromtheGroningen

field–theswingproducer–hadtobereduced.

100

200

300

400

500

600

20072005 2006 2008 2009

Small �eldsGroningen

Bill

ion

m3

GE

At 31 december

396

124

427

110

397

116

393

114

391

100


50 years of Groningen gasDutchsocietyhasbeenbenefittingfromgas

fromtheGroningenfieldforfiftyyears.The1959

discoveryoftheGroningenfieldwasmarkedin

June2009byasymposium,variouscelebrations

andtheunveilingofaworkofartbyHerMajesty

QueenBeatrix.ProductionfromtheGroningen

fieldstartedin1963andthefieldhascontinuedto

supplygasonanuninterruptedbasiseversince.

Sofarthishasgeneratedmanybillionsofeurosof

revenuesfortheDutchStateandofcourseithas

alsomadeahugecontributiontothesecurityof

supplybothinandoutsidetheNetherlands.

Projects

Asitwasnotpossibletoachievethecurrent

productionlevelfromtheGroningenfieldwithout

modifications,itwasdecidedin1997tostartthe

GroningenLong-TermRenovationandCompression

Project.Afterelevenyearsofrenovations,thisproject

wasroundedoffin2009withthefestivecompletion

ofthelastproductioncluster.Manyguests,including

localresidents,attendedthefestivities.Thistwo-

billion-euroinvestmentwillenablemanymoreyears

oftrouble-freeproductionfromtheGroningenfield.

Safetywasamajorfocalpointthroughoutthisproject,

whichachievedaverygoodsafetyrecord.

RedevelopmentoftheSchoonebeekoilfieldwas

addressedvigorouslyin2009.Constructionofvarious

unitsattheprocessingsiteisproceedingsteadily.

Drillingtheproductionandsteam-injectionwells

alsostarted,whiletheexportpipelinetotherefinery

inLingen,Germany,wascompleted.Thefirstoilis

expectedtobeproducedin2010.

AnewmilestonewasreachedattheBergermeer

gas-storage-facilityproject:Gazpromandtheowners

oftheBergermeerfieldsignedanagreementfor

supplyingcushiongas.Constructionofthenew

gas-storagefacilitywasapproved,providingthe

requiredpermitsareobtained.Discussionswith

localmunicipalauthoritiesandlocalstakeholders

arecurrentlyongoing.

Joint ventures

Thenumberofproductionjointventuresinwhich

EBNparticipatesonceagainincreasedbytwoonshore

andtwooffshorelicences.Bytheendoftheyear,the

totalnumberwas125.Thenumberofjointventuresin

explorationlicencesincreasedfrom41to45.Atotal

offouroffshoreexplorationlicenceswererelinquished

totheMEA.

EBNalsoparticipatesinfivemajoroffshoregas

gatheringlinesandthreeoperationalgasstorage

facilities.TheBergermeergas-storagefacility,an

importantnewdevelopment,bringsthenumberof

gas-storagefacilitiestofour.

Bytheendof2009,therefore,EBNmanaged181joint

ventures.In2010,thenumberofjointventuresislikely

toincreasetocloseto200.

First gas…In2009,thenewcompaniesCirrusandNorthern

Petroleumproducedtheirfirstgas.Anice

milestone.Itconsolidatestheirfinancialposition

andenablesthemtoembarkonfurtherexploration

anddevelopment.


Technological developments

Theyear2009witnessedseveralinteresting

technologicaldevelopments,includinganewdrilling

techniquebeingappliedinEuropeforthefirsttime:

‘casingwhiledrilling’,whichinvolvesplacingcasing

duringdrillingoperations.Thistechniqueislikely

toresultinconsiderablecostsavings,thusmaking

productionofsmallreservoirsmoreprofitable.

Thenewseismicprocessingtechnique(BEAM

migration)enablesmoreaccurateimagingunderneath

complexsaltlayers.Thatmakesexploration

underneaththesesaltlayersmuchlessrisky,and

increasesthelikelihoodoffindingnewgasprospects.

Specialtechniquesarenowavailabletocombat

fluidaccumulationinthebottomsofwells.Now

thesometimeslargevolumesoffluidthatlimitgas

productioncanbecleverlyremoved.Thesetechniques

increasewelllife.EBNexpectsthatatleastafurther

30billionm3ofgascanbeproducedbyapplying

thesetechniques.

Fraccingofgas-bearingformationsisincreasingly

beingapplied.Thisinvolvesfracturingrocksby

injectingaspecialliquidunderhighpressureintothe

reservoirinordertoincreaseproduction.NAMhas

startedwithamulti-fraccedwellintheL-13field,

which,ifsuccessful,willenableproductionofgasfrom

tight–poorlypermeable–reservoirs.

Morenewoperatorsarrivedonthescenein2009.

Theseoperatorsareseekingtostartexplorationand

productionfromunconventionalreservoirssuchas

shalegasandcoalbedmethaneintheNetherlands.

Mostofthemhavewide-rangingexperiencein

producingunconventionalgaselsewhereintheworld

andseeopportunitiestoapplytheirtechniquesinthe

Netherlands.EBNsupportstheseventuresand,if

requested,willparticipateinexploration.

EBN in the press…EBNalsopaidmoreattentiontoexternal

communicationsin2009.Asaresult,newspapers

regularlyfeaturedarticlesontopicssuchasgas

storageandunconventionalgas.EBNcommissioned

astudyonthelatter.Thiscanbedownloadedfreeof

chargeonwww.ebn.nl.EBNstaffmembershavealso

givenseverallecturesonthissubject.


Mining climate

TheamendmentoftheMiningActon1January2010

hassimplifiedtheapprovalproceduressothatEBNis

nowsubjecttothesameregulationswhenparticipating

inexplorationonshoreasitisoffshore.EBNhadalready

beeninvitedbyseveraloperatorstoparticipatein

licencesinanticipationofthisamendment.


Gasgebouwpartnership

Important pillars

EBNhasa40%interestinMaatschapGroningen.

Thispartnership,whereNAMistheoperator,is

responsiblefortheproductionofnaturalgasfrom

theGroningenfieldandfortwoundergroundstorage

facilities.Inaddition,EBNalsohasa40%interestin

GasTerra,thecompanyresponsibleforsellingmost

oftheDutchgas.Thepublic-privatepartnershipof

MaatschapGroningenandGasTerraiscommonly

referredtoastheGasgebouwpartnership.

Gasgebouw in 2009

TheNorth-WestEuropeangasmarkethasfeltthe

effectsoftheeconomiccrisisandhashadtocontend

withanunexpectedandsubstantialgassurplus.On

theonehandthiswasduetothefallindemandcaused

bytherecessionandontheotherhandtothegrowing

volumeofLNGcomingtoEuropeinsteadoftotheUSA.

TheGasgebouwpartnershipremainedrobustinthis

turbulentyearandonceagainproveditsvalueforthe


securityofsupplyinearly2009,duringtheUkrainian

gascrises.ForafewweekstheGroningenfieldand

thestoragefacilitiesproducedatfullcapacitytomeet

thesuddendemandfromcustomersathomeand

abroad.Formoreinformation,werefertotheannual

reportofGasTerra(www.gasterra.nl).Thisunderscored

thespecialqualitiesoftheGroningenfieldandmarked

agoodstarttoananniversaryyear.Inmid-2009we

andourpartnerscelebratedthe50thanniversaryofthe

Groningengasfield.

TheMinisterofEconomicAffairshasindicatedthatthe

Cabinetintendstogivecarefulconsiderationtothe

futureoftheGasgebouwpartnershipandthefuture

positionofGasTerraintheinternationalgasmarket

incloseconsultationwiththepartiesinvolved.EBN

endorsestheimportanceofthis.Firstlywithaview

tothefuturestabilityofthesmall-fieldspolicyasEBN

believesthatthesefieldswillremainveryimportantfor

Dutchsocietyformanydecadestocome.Secondly

because,inGasTerra,theNetherlandshasamajor

playerintheNorth-WestEuropeangasmarketandwe

needtoconsideringoodtimehowwecanmaintain

thatposition,evenwhenvolumesofour‘own’

Dutchgasstarttodecline.Inaddition,GasTerracan

promotetheroleofgasasatransitionfueltowardsa

sustainableenergysupply.

Market developments

Theyear2009wasverymuchdominatedbythe

economicandfinancialcrises,whichalsoleft

theirmarkonthegassector.Demandforgasfell

substantially,particularlyasaresultofthemuchlower

levelsofindustrialconsumption.Thisfallalsoresulted

inconsiderablylowerprices.Whereasoilprices

recoveredinthecourseoftheyear,gaspriceson

spotmarketsremainedlow.

Thissituationisnotlikelytochangesubstantiallyin

thenextfewyears.Demandwilldefinitelyrise,but

so,too,willsupplies.Thiswillbeduetothehuge

productionofunconventionalgasintheUnited

States–farexceedingexpectations–andtothelarge

volumesofLNG(liquefiednaturalgas)thatareflooding

themarket.

Inthiscontext,itisremarkablethattheDutchoil

andgasindustry’sactivitiesandinvestmentshave

remainedatalevelcomparabletothoseofthepast

fewyears.Neitherthenumberofexplorationand

productionwellsnorEBN’stotalcapitalinvestment

aremuchdifferentfrom2008.


Pro

fit


“Tous,CSRisnotagoalinitself.Weareseeking

increasinglytomakeitpartofourday-to-dayroutines.”

47 | Section4-Profit

Interview with Danny Westendorp

Imaginegettingtheopportunitytobuildanentirenewteamaroundyou!Andthatwhenyouhaveonlyjustjoinedyour

newemployer!ThatiswhathappenedtoDannyWestendorp,Accounting&ReportingManageratEBNsinceMarch2009.

In2009,hesetupanentirelynewAccounting&ReportingdepartmentinUtrechtbecausetheentireFinancialAdministration

teaminHeerlenhadoptedtostayinLimburg.Transferringanentirefinancialadministrationisahugeoperation.

“WedemandedalotofourstaffinHeerlenandUtrecht,”saysDanny.“Buteverybodywashighlymotivatedtomakethe

transitiongosmoothly.Iamproudofhowwelleverybodyhasbeenworkingonthistransition.Wearereadytotakeover

fromHeerlenfromthestartofthe2010financialyear.”

Intensive

ThenewAccounting&ReportingdepartmentinUtrecht

consistsofthreeunits:JointVentureAccounting,

FinancialReporting&Control,andTreasuryControl.

AsDannysays,“Wehavebynowfullystaffedall

thedepartment’sthreeunits.Allournewemployees

havecompletedanintensiveeducationandtraining

programme.In2009,weregularlyspenttwoorthree

daysaweekinHeerlen,wheretheexistingdepartment

waslocated.TheHeerlenemployeeshavesuchsmooth

routines;weinUtrechtcanlearnalotfromthem.So

foratemporaryperiodweoperatedadoublefinancial

administrationsoastoensureaproperhandover.We

arealsoworkingwithinverystrictdeadlines.Wereally

cannotafforddelays.”From2010onwards,theUtrecht

departmentwillincreasinglybeperformingcertainjobs

independently.Whatarethepriorities?“Toourexternal

partners,moneytransferswilllooklikebusinessas

usual,”explainsDanny.“Butapartfromthatweare

seekingtoimprovecollaborationwithinEBN.Wewant

toshowclearlywhatwecanoffertootherdepartments

andtailorthatoptimallytotheirrequirements.”

Corporate sustainability

EBNisseekingtoincorporateCSRstructurallyintoits

day-to-dayroutines.HowdoesDannyWestendorp

viewthisfroma‘P’ofprofitperspective?“CSRis

increasinglyandemphaticallyonouragenda,”hesays.

“Inpracticethismeansthatourpreferenceisfor

employeestotravelbypublictransport,andthatour

leasedcarshavetohaveA,BorCenergylabels.

Wearealsoseekingtoapplysustainabilitycriteria

moreeffectivelyinourpurchasingactivities.Weare

alsotryingtomakeoperatorsawareoftheimportance

ofsustainablebusiness.Tous,CSRisnotagoalin

itself.Weareseekingincreasinglytomakeitpartofour

day-to-dayroutines.”

NewinUtrecht:Accounting&Reporting


Turnover

In2009turnoveramountedto6,387millioneuros

comparedto8,698millioneurosin2008.This

decreaseof27%wasmainlyduetothereductionin

gasturnoverthatresultedfroma23%fallinaverage

gasprices.Gasvolumesalsofellby4%.

Turnoverofoil(1%oftotalturnover)fellin2009by

65%.Thisreductionwasattributableontheone

handtothelowerpriceperbarrelandthelowerdollar

exchangerateagainsttheeuroandontheotherhand

tothefallbyhalfinthevolumesproduced.

Operating costs

Totaloperatingcostsfellby21%from4,306million

eurosin2008to3,422millioneurosin2009.The

differenceislargelyattributabletothedecreasein

paymentsmadetotheState.

Results

Theoperatingprofitin2009amountedto2,965million

euros,representingadecreaseof32%(1,427million

euros)onthefigurerecordedfor2008.Thenetprofitin

2009was2,211millioneuros,whichwas1,058million

euroslowerthanin2008.Thenetprofitisdistributed

infulltotheshareholder.

Financialresults

Operatingresults

2

4

6

8

10

20072005

Bill

ions

of e

uros

2006 2008 2009

state income net pro�toperating coststurnover


Riskmanagementandinternalcontrol

Risk management

Inaccordancewithformulatedpolicy,theinternational

COSOmodelisusedasaguidingprincipleforEBN’s

riskmanagement.ThebasicprincipleofCOSOis

structuralembeddingofriskmanagementinallEBN’s

businessprocesses.Considerableattentionwas

devotedin2009tospecifyingoperationalobjectives

andtodevelopingapropermethodofassessing

performanceoftheseobjectives.Wearealsoworking

onfurtherincreasingawarenessofperformance

assessmentandriskmanagementwithinthe

organisation.Inadditionwearemakingprogressin

tighteningmanagementproceduresinjointventures

andinidentifyingrisksinvolvedinmajornewprojects.

Theinternalorganisationofthebusinesslines,

wherethefocusisonmanagingtheparticipations,

wasdevelopedfurtherduringtheyear,withone

importantaspectbeingtheimprovingofperformance

assessments.Scorecardshavenowbeendrawn

upandimplementedforalltheupstreambusiness

linesandmanagement-supportdepartments.

Thesescorecardsaretobecompletedmonthlyand

subsequentlydiscussedinthebusinesslinesand

management-supportdepartments.Theyshow

themaindevelopmentsintheformofperformance

indicators.Aselectionofindividualscorecardsis

includedintheExecutiveBoard’sscorecard(the

‘ExecutiveBoarddashboard’)everymonth.

Thedashboardandscorecardsenableustomanage

ourperformancemoredirectlyandhavebecomean

importantcontroltoolforEBN.Theymeanthatwecan

nowmorequicklyidentifysignificantdeviationsfrom

standardsthathavebeenset,whiletheyhavealso

improvedourinsightintofinancialdevelopments.Inthis

waywecanmanagetherisksinvolvedinparticipations

moreeffectively.Weareplanningtooptimisetheitems

listedonthescorecardsinthecomingyear,while

theExecutiveBoardisactivelypromotingtheuse

ofscorecardsthroughouttheorganisation.


Strategic business risks

InpreparationforEBNbecomingindependent,an

analysiswasmadeofthecompany’smainstrategic

businessrisks.Thissurveyconcludedthat,inthelight

ofthecomingindependence,moreattentionshould

bepaidto:

• managementofparticipations;

• vulnerabilityasregardsretentionofknowledge

andexperienceinarelativelysmallorganisation;

• organisationandmanagementofinformation

systems.

In2010thestrategiclong-termplanwillbe

reformulatedtoincludeanupdatedanalysisofthe

mainstrategicbusinessrisks.

Management of joint ventures

In2009westartedsettingupaninvestment

administrationsothatwecantrackdetailsofallour

investmentprojectsfromthemomentofapprovaltothe

momentofcompletionandalsoimprovethefinancial

managementoftheseprojects.Weareaimingtohave

thisinvestmentadministrationfullyoperationalin2010.

Therequiredexpertisehasbeenclusteredinthe

internalmatrixorganisation,overseenbythebusiness

linemanagerandwiththeaimofensuringproperrisk

management.Thismeanswecanplayapro-activerole

inparticipations,andthiswillbehelpedbythefactthat

theBusinessControlgroupwasbroughttothedesired


strengthinthepastyear.Thesevariouschangeswill

alsoenableustofurtherincreasetheeffectivenessand

efficiencyofbusinesslineactivities.Duringtheyearwe

alsofurtherimprovedourmanagementoftheexternal

auditors’annualauditsofEBN’sparticipationsandare

increasinglybasingthisaspectofourmanagement

activitiesonperceivedrisks.

Knowledge retention and transfer

OnceagainEBNrecruitedmanynewemployees

duringtheyear.Itisconsequentlyessentialforus

toensureaneffectivetransferofknowledge,andit

iscrucialforoperationalprocessestobeproperly

documented.Wecontinuedworkontheseaspects

ofouractivitiesin2009,withoperationalprocesses

nowbeingincludedintheIntegralManagement

System(IMS).Allouremployeeshaveaccessto

IMSthroughtheintranet.Inadditiontooperational

processes,allpolicydocumentsareavailablethrough

IMS.Thetargetistocompletetheupdatingofallthe

operationalprocessesin2010.

Information Technology

Betterdatamanagementandimprovedaccessibilityof

dataiscrucialifEBNistoenhanceitspro-activerolein

participations,tooperatemoreeffectivelyandefficiently

andtoimproveitsriskmanagementfurther.Tothis

end,anICTarchitecturewasdesignedin2009that

willequiptheorganisationforthefuture.Thechosen

designisbasedonanintegralapproach,inwhich

accessibilityandavailabilityofdataareindependent

oftheapplicationsused.Foranalysispurposes,a

toolwillbeusedtoanalysedatacomingfromvarious

applications.WehavealargenumberofICT-related

projectsplannedfor2010,manyofwhichfocuson

improvingdataaccessibilityandenhancingdata-

processingefficiency.

Operational risks and internal audits

TherisksinvolvedintheperformanceofEBN’s

operationalactivitiesaremanagedprimarilythrough

theadoptingandenforcingofstandardisedbusiness

processes.Internalauditsareconductedannuallyto

evaluatethedesign,existenceandperformanceof

businessprocesses.EBNemployeessuccessfully

conductedtwointernalauditsin2009.Theadvantage

oftheseinternalauditsisthatemployeesgain

agreaterunderstandingofotherdepartments’

processes.Theyalsocreatemoreaffinityamongstaff

withauditingandriskmanagementingeneral.Audit

resultswerediscussedwiththeExecutiveBoardand

thoseresponsibleforcarryingouttheprocesses.The

recommendationsresultingfromtheseauditswillbe

implementedandtheExecutiveBoardwillcarefully

monitorprogress.


True and fair view

TheExecutiveBoardbelievesthattheinternalcontrol

systemforfinancialreportingprovidesareasonable

levelofinsurancethatthefinancialreportsdonot

containanymaterialinaccuracies.TheBoardalso

concludesthattheinternalcontrolsystemfunctioned

properlyin2009.

TheExecutiveBoardofEBNstatesthat,tothebest

oftheirknowledge,thefinancialstatementsof2009

giveatrueandfairviewoftheassets,liabilities,

financialpositionandprofitofEBNandthattheannual

reportgivesatrueandfairviewofthepositionas

perDecember31,2009thedevelopmentofEBN

during2009andthattheannualreportdescribes

theprincipalrisksEBNisfacing.Itshouldbenoted,

however,thattheabovedoesnotimplythatthese

systemsandproceduresareanabsoluteguarantee

thatthecompany’sstrategicandoperationalobjectives

willbeachievedorthattheycancompletelyprevent

anyincorrectdata,inaccuracies,errors,casesoffraud

oractionscontrarytolegislationandregulations.

Inviewoftheabove,theExecutiveBoardconsiders

thatitcomplieswithbestpracticeprovisionsII.1.4.

andII.1.5oftheCorporateGovernanceCode.


AsEBNisnotlistedonthestockexchange,the

CorporateGovernanceCodeisnotapplicable.EBN

adherestothegovernmentpolicyforstateparticipations

andendorsestheprincipleoftheCodethattransparency

towardsstakeholdersiscrucial,aswellasgenerally

structuringitsactivitiesinaccordancewiththeprinciples

oftheCode.Thisdoesnotapplytoallthebestpractice

provisionsincludedintheseprinciplesasmanyofthese

arenotrelevantand,therefore,notapplicabletoEBN.

EBNcomplieswiththefollowingprinciplesofthe

CorporateGovernanceCode:

• II.1(ExecutiveBoard:roleandprocedures);

• II.3(ExecutiveBoard:conflictsofinterest);

• III.1(SupervisoryBoard:roleandprocedures);

• III.2(SupervisoryBoard:independence);

• III.3(SupervisoryBoard:expertiseandcomposition);

• III.4(SupervisoryBoard:rolesofthechairmanofthe

SupervisoryBoardandthecompanysecretary);

• III.5(SupervisoryBoard:compositionsandrolesofthe

threekeySupervisoryBoardcommittees);

• III.6(SupervisoryBoard:conflictsofinterest);

• III.7(SupervisoryBoard:remuneration);

• V.1(financialreporting);

• V.2(role,appointment,remunerationandevaluationof

theperformanceoftheexternalauditors);

• V.3enV.4(externalauditors’relationshipand

communicationswithcompanybodies).

CorporateGovernance


General

FinancialStatements

TheExecutiveBoardhaspreparedand,byresolution

of16March2010,formallyapprovedthefinancial

statementsofEnergieBeheerNederlandB.V.(EBN)

forthe2009financialyear.Thefinancialstatements

weresubsequentlysubmittedtotheSupervisoryBoard

forapprovalandsigning.PursuanttoArticle20.2of

theArticlesofAssociation,theSupervisoryBoard

alsoprovidesapreliminaryrecommendationtothe

shareholders.Thefinancialstatementswillbesubmitted

totheGeneralMeetingofShareholderson27April2010,

wheretheywillbeadoptedandsubsequentlypublished.

AllsharesinEBNareheldbytheDutchState.

ThefinancialstatementsofEBNforthe2009financial

yearhavebeenpreparedinaccordancewiththe

InternationalFinancialReportingStandards(IFRS)

andinterpretationsoftheInternationalFinancial

ReportingInterpretationCommittee(IFRIC)effectiveat

31December2009andasacceptedforapplication

withintheEuropeanUnion.

55 | Section4-Profit-FinancialStatements

ThefinancialstatementsofEBNpertainmainlyto

EBN’sshareinjointventuresinthefieldofoiland

gasproductionintheNetherlandsandtheDutchpart

ofthecontinentalshelf.Theinformationshownrelates

toEBN’sshareintheassetsandliabilitiesaswellasin

therevenuesandexpensesofsuchjointventures.

EBNalsohasshareholdingsinanumberofcompanies.

Joint ventures

Jointventuresaredefinedascontractualorother

arrangementswithpartnerswithwhomEBNjointly

performsactivities.Theseactivitiesuseassetsthatare

jointlycontrolledbyEBNanditspartners.EBNaccounts

forthesejointassetsandrelatedliabilities,expensesand

revenuesproportionallyinthefinancialstatements.

The‘MaatschapGroningen’[GroningenPartnership]

isthemainjointventure.Intotal,EBNparticipatesin

22onshoreproductionlicences,103offshoreproduction

licences,45explorationlicences,theEmmengas

purificationplantand4undergroundnaturalgasstorage

facilities.EBNalsoparticipatesintheK13-DenHeldergas

processingplantandpipeline,theK13-Extensionpipeline

(throughasubsidiary)andtheF3/A6Extensionpipeline

(throughasubsidiary).Theparticipationpercentagesin

thesejointventuresrangefrom40%to50%.

EBNholds100%ofthesharesinK13Extensie

BeheerB.V.andF3/A6ExtensieB.V.asaresultof

theaboveparticipationsintheK13ExtensionandF3/

A6Extensionpipelines.Thefinancialsignificancefor

EBNofthesetwoparticipationsisnotmaterial.These

participationshavethereforenotbeenconsolidated.

ThefinancialstatementsofEBNconsequentlyreflect

boththeconsolidatedandnon-consolidatedposition.

Associates

EBNparticipatesfor40%inGasTerraB.V.andfor45%

inNOGATB.V.Inaddition,EBNhasa12%interestin

NGT-Extensie.


General

Unlessstatedotherwise,thefinancialstatements

havebeenpreparedinaccordancewiththehistorical

costconvention.

Conversion of foreign currencies

Theeuroisthefunctionalandreportingcurrencyof

EBN.Thisalsoappliestojointventures.Commercial

transactionsandborrowingsinforeigncurrencies

areshownintheaccountsatthespotexchange

ratesapplicableonthetransactiondates.Balance

sheetitemsdenominatedinforeigncurrenciesare

convertedatthespotexchangeratesapplicableon

thebalancesheetdate.Differencesinexchangerates

resultingfromsettlementofthesetransactionsand

conversionofbalancesheetitemsaretakentothe

resultfortheyear.

Current versus long-term assets

and liabilities

Anassetisclassedascurrentifitisexpectedtobe

realisedwithin12monthsofthebalancesheetdate.

Aliabilityordebtisclassifiedascurrentifitwillbe

settledwithin12monthsofthebalancesheetdate.

Property, plant and equipment

Exploration wells

Expensesforexplorationwellsarecapitalised

(wellsunderconstruction).Ifanexplorationwell

turnsouttobedry,thecostsincurredaretakento

theresult.Aslongasthereisnoproductionfrom

agasoroilexplorationwell,theassetconcerned

isnotdepreciated.

Expensesrelatedtoexplorationwellsthatareolder

than12monthsarechargedtotheresult,unless:

(i) theyarelocatedinanareawheresignificantcapital

investmentsarerequiredbeforeproductioncan

commence,and

(ii) commerciallyrecoverablequantitieshavebeen

found,and

(iii)furtherexplorationorappraisalactivitiesaretaking

place,i.e.additionalexplorationwellsarebeing

drilledortherearedefiniteplanstodothisin

thenearfuture.

TheExecutiveBoardregularlyevaluateswhetherit

isappropriatetocapitaliseandcontinuecapitalising

expensesrelatingtoexplorationdrilling.Exploration

wellsolderthan12monthsareadditionallyevaluated

todeterminewhetheranyfactsorcircumstanceshave

changedandwhethertheabovecriteriastillapply.

Principles for the valuation of assets and liabilities and determination of profit


Reimbursement

Thecostsofreimbursementspaidtopartners–mainly

explorationcostsandinterestpaymentsrelatedto

provenreserves–arecapitalisedandamortisedonthe

basisoftheunit-of-productionmethod(seenextsection

foranexplanation).

Property, plant and equipment for production

Property,plantandequipmentfortheproduction

ofoilandgasandotherfixedassetsareshown

atcostlessdepreciationandanyimpairmentin

value.Replacementinvestmentsthatconstitute

improvementsarecapitalised,whereasidentical

replacementinvestmentsaretakentotheresult.

Theestimatedcostsofdecommissioning,abandoning

andremovingplatformsandotherinstallationsare

capitalisedaspartofthecostofthetangiblefixed

assetconcerned.

Property,plantandequipmentfortheproduction

ofoilandgasaredepreciatedonthebasisofthe

unit-of-production(UoP)method:theratiobetween

theproductioninthefinancialyearandthereserves

asat1Januaryofthatfinancialyear.Thesereserves

aredeterminedinaccordancewiththedefinitions

laiddownbySPE,WPC,AAPGandSPEEinthe

PetroleumResourcesManagementSystem.

Otherproperty,plantandequipmentaredepreciated

onastraight-linebasisovertheirestimateduseful

economiclife.Formaintransportpipelinesand

facilitiesfortheundergroundstorageofnatural

gas(UGSs),aneconomiclifeof20yearsisinitially

estimated.Forbuildings,aneconomiclifeof10years

isassumed.Landisnotdepreciated.

Theestimatedremainingeconomiclifeofthese

property,plantandequipmentisreassessedevery

year.Economicandtechnologicalobsolescenceand

normalwearandteararetakenintoaccount.

Atangiblefixedassetisnolongerincludedinthe

balancesheetonceithasbeendivestedorwhenno

futureeconomicbenefitsareexpectedfromitsfurther

useorintheeventofsurrenderofthelicenceorsaleof

theasset.Anygainorlossresultingfromtheassetno

longerbeingincludedinthebalancesheetistakento

theresult.


Borrowing costs of major projects

Financingcostsofmajorprojectshavebeencapitalised

since1January2009.Theinterestrateusedforthe

financialyearisbasedontheaverageinterestrate

applyingonlong-termborrowingsinthatfinancialyear.

Onceanassetisputintooperation,itsfinancingcosts

willnolongerbecapitalisedandthecumulativeinterest

willbedepreciatedonthebasisoftheUoPpercentage

oftheassetconcerned.

Financial fixed assets

AnassociateisaninterestinanentityonwhichEBN

canexertsignificantinfluence,butoverwhichitcannot

exercisedecisivecontrol.Associatesareshownin

accordancewiththeequitymethod.Thismeansthat

EBN’sshareinanassociateisshownasEBN’ssharein

thenetassetsofthisentity,lessanyimpairment.EBN’s

shareintheprofitorlossoftheassociateistakentothe

resultfortheyear.

IfEBN’sshareinthelossofanassociateexceedsthe

carryingamountofthatparticipation,includingany

otherreceivables,thecarryingamountisreducedtonil.

Nofurtherlossesareaccountedfor,unlessEBNhas

assumedresponsibilityfortheassociatethrough

aguaranteeorothercommitments.

Unrealisedgainsandlossesontransactionswith

associatesareeliminatedinproportiontoEBN’sshare

intheseentities.

Impairment

Anassessmentismadeoneachbalancesheetdate

astowhetherthecarryingamountofanon-current

asset(atangibleorfinancialfixedasset)exceedsits

realisablevalue(thehigheroftheindirectanddirect

realisablevalues).Inthiscase,thevalueoftheasset

willbedeemedtobeimpaired.Ifanassetdoes

notgeneratesufficientindependentcashflow,the

realisablevalueisdeterminedforthecash-generating

unittowhichtheassetbelongs.AtypicalEBN

cash-generatingunitisafield.Todeterminethe

indirectrealisablevalue,estimatedfuturecashflows

arediscountedataratebeforetaxes,onthebasisof

themarketinterestrateplusamark-upfortheasset’s

specificrisks.

Iftherealisablevalueofanassetislowerthanthe

carryingamount,thecarryingamountwillbereduced

totherealisablevalue.Impairmentcanbereversed,

eitherwhollyorpartially,intheeventofachangein

theestimatethatisofsignificancefordetermining

therealisablevalue.

Impairmentsareshownasaseparateiteminthe

statementofcomprehensiveincome.

Inventories

Inventoriesofmaterialsandequipmentareshown

atthelowerofaveragepurchasepricesornet

realisablevalues.Inventoriesofabove-ground

condensateandoilareshownattheirnetrealisable

valuesattheyear-end.


Receivables

Receivablesareshownattheiramortisedcost

priceslessanyamountdeemednecessaryfor

doubtfuldebts.

Cash and cash equivalents

Wedefinecashandcashequivalentsascashinhand,

bankbalancesanddepositswithbankswitharemaining

termtomaturityoflessthanthreemonths.Amounts

owedtobanksareshownasshort-termliabilities.

Cashandcashequivalentsareshownatfacevalue.

Shareholder’s equity

TheDutchStateisEBN’ssoleshareholder.Thedividend

payabletothisshareholderisshownasaliabilityin

theperiodforwhichitisdue,inaccordancewiththe

managementagreementwiththeDutchState.An

exceptiontothisruleismadefortheproposedfinal

dividend,whichdoesnotbecomealiabilityuntilithas

beenapprovedbytheGeneralMeetingofShareholders.

Provisions

Provisionsareshowninthebalancesheetifthe

followingconditionsaresatisfied:

(i) thereisalegaloractualobligationasa

consequenceofaneventinthepast,and

(ii) itislikelythatassetswillbewithdrawnfromthe

companyinordertomeetthisobligation,and

(iii)theamountoftheobligationcanbereliably

estimated.

Iftheeffectofthetimevalueofmoneyismaterial,

provisionsaredeterminedbycalculatingthepresent

valueoftheforecastcashflowsatadiscountratebefore

tax.Whenthepresentvalueshavebeencalculated,

increasesinprovisionsasaresultofthepassingof

timearetreatedasinterestcharges.Theprovisionfor

deferredtaxliabilitiesisshownatitsnominalvalue.

Theprovisionfordecommissioningandrestoration

costsisdesignedtocoverthecosts,asestimated

atthestartofproduction,ofdecommissioning,

abandonmentandlandrestorationonthebasisof

present-dayrequirements,technologyandprice

levels.Changesintheestimatesforthisprovision,

asprovidedtoEBNbytheoperators,resultin

correspondingchangesintheacquisitioncostsofthe

property,plantandequipmentconcerned.

Theprovisionforgroundsubsidenceisdesignedto

covercertainadditionalliabilitiesarisingduringthe

productionphase.

Liabilities

Outstandingborrowingsareshownatamortisedcost,

withloansinforeigncurrenciesbeingconvertedatthe

exchangeratesapplyingonthebalancesheetdate.

Premiumsordiscountsonloansareamortisedduring

thetermtomaturityoftheloanconcerned.Interest

expenseistakentotheresultintheperiodtowhich

itpertains.


Contingent assets and liabilities

Contingentassetsandliabilitiesarenotshowninthe

balancesheet.

Emission rights

Asaresultofitsinterestsinthevariousjointventures,

EBNmustcomplywithlegislationdesignedtoreduce

greenhousegasemissions.Theoperatortradesthe

emissionrightsonbehalfofthejointventurepartners.

Theoperatorreservesemissionrightsinordertobe

abletosatisfydeliveryobligations.Theserightsare

notshowninthebalancesheet.Incomeisreported

whentheoperatorsellsEBN’sshareinsurplus

emissionrights.Iftheoperatorhastopurchase

additionalemissionrights,EBNrecordsanexpense

totheextentofitsshare.

Net sales

Netrevenuesfromthesaleofgas,oilandcondensate

areaccountedforatthetimeofdelivery,whichis

whenownershipofandtherisksassociatedwiththe

deliveredgoodspasstothebuyer.Revenuesfromoil

andgasproductiongeneratedfromassetsinwhich

EBNparticipateswithotherproducersareshownin

proportiontoEBN’srelativeinterestintheseassets.

Operating costs

Expensesaredeterminedonthebasisofhistoricalcost.

Theseexpensesincludetheshareintheexpensesofthe

jointventurethatcorrespondswithEBN’sinterest,aswell

asthecostsofmanagingthejointventure.Theoperating

costsalsoincludepaymentstotheDutchState.

Financial income and expense

Interestincomeandexpenseareshownonatime-

proportionatebasis.Interestexpensealsoincludes

interestaccruedonprovisions.

Share of the profit of associates

Theshareintheresultoffinancialfixedassetsis

shownastheshareoftheresultsfortheyearunder

reviewcorrespondingwithEBN’sinterest,after

deductionoftaxes.

Taxes

Taxesonprofitsaredeterminedinaccordancewith

thebalancesheetmethod.Taxliabilitiesareshown

inthestatementofincomeandexpenseexcept

insofarastheyrelatetoanitemincludedinsundry

unrealisedresults.

Currenttaxesaretaxesthatareexpectedtobe

paidonthetaxableprofitfortheyear,basedonthe

taxratesapplyingonthebalancesheetdate,net

ofanyadjustmentsfortaxespayableinrespectof

previousyears.

Deferredtaxassetsandliabilitiesareshownonthe

basisoftheexpectedfiscalconsequencesoftiming

differencesbetweenthefiscalandcommercial

carryingamountsofassetsandliabilities.Deferredtax

assetsandliabilitiesarecalculatedonthebasisofthe

applicableorsubstantivelydeterminedtaxrateson

thebalancesheetdateandinaccordancewiththe

taxregulationsexpectedtoapplywhenthespecific

deferredassetsandliabilitiesaresettled.


Financial derivatives

Financialderivativesareinitiallyshownatfairvalue

andsubsequentlyshownateachbalancesheet

dateattheirthenfairvalue.Anyresultantgainsor

lossesaretakentotheresult.EBNdoesnotapply

hedgeaccounting.

International Financial Reporting Standards

(IFRS)

The2009financialstatementstakeaccountofthe

consequencesofthefollowingstandards,whichhave

appliedsincethestartofthe2009financialyear:

(i) IFRS7,FinancialInstruments:disclosures

(ii) IFRS8,OperatingSegments

(iii) IAS1,PresentationofFinancialStatements

(iv) IAS23,BorrowingCosts.

The2009financialstatementsdonottakeaccount

oftheconsequencesofthefollowingstandards,the

applicationofwhichhasbeeninforcesincethestart

ofthe2009financialyear.Thesestandardsarenot

applicabletoEBNandthereforehavenoeffect:

(i) IFRS2,Share-basedPayment

(ii) IAS27R,ConsolidatedandSeparateFinancial

Statements

(iii) IAS32Amendment,FinancialInstruments:

Presentation

(iv) IAS39Amendment,FinancialInstruments:

RecognitionandMeasurement

(v) IFRIC9,ReassessmentofEmbeddedDerivatives

(vi) IFRIC12,ServiceConcessionArrangements

(vii)IFRIC13,CustomerLoyaltyPrograms

(viii)IFRIC15,AgreementsfortheConstructionof

RealEstate

(ix) IFRIC16,HedgesofaNetInvestmentin

aForeignOperation

(x) IFRIC17,DistributionsofNon-cashAssets

toOwners

(xi) IFRIC18,TransfersofAssetsfromCustomers

EBNhasoptednottoapplythefollowingnew

standards,amendmentstostandardsandnewIFRIC

interpretations,theapplicationofwhichismandatory

fromthe2010financialyearorsubsequentyears:

(i) IFRS3,BusinessCombinations;from2010.

EBNdoesnotexpectapplicationofthisnew

standard,amendmentstostandardsandnewIFRIC

interpretationstoresultinanymaterialconsequences

forthecompany’sfinancialstatements.


Statement of comprehensive income

inmillionsofeuros

note 2009

changecomparedto2008 2008

netsales 2 6,387 -27% 8,698

levies 3 2,238 3,136

operationalcosts 4 722 669

depreciationandamortization 5 462 501

operatingexpenses 3,422 -21% 4,306

operatingprofit 2,965 -32% 4,392

financialincome 6 22 26

financialexpense 6 -89 -89

shareoftheprofitofassociates 7 52 51

pre-taxprofit 2,950 -33% 4,380

taxes 8 -739 -33% -1,111

profit 9 2,211 -32% 3,269

othercomprehensiveincome - -

Total comprehensive income 2,211 3,269


Balance Sheet

inmillionsofeuros

Assets noteyear-end

2009year-end

2008 Liabilities noteyear-end

2009year-end

2008

Non-current assets Shareholders' equity 14

property,plantandequipment 10 3,448 3,404 sharecapital 128 128

associates 11 113 113 retainedearnings 30 32

3,561 3,517 158 160

Non-current liabilities

provisions 15 1,255 1,391

deferredtaxliabilities 8 40 78

borrowings 16 1,004 1,304

other 17 18 18

2,317 2,791

Current assets Current liabilities

inventories 12 12 9 borrowings 16 1,064 427

receivables 13 1,007 1,856 derivatives 19 0 22

derivatives 19 98 96 tax 246 417

cashandcashequivalents 0 68 other 18 893 1,729

1,117 2,029 2,203 2,595

Total 4,678 5,546 Total 4,678 5,546


Summary of changes in shareholder’s equity

inmillionsofeuros

sharecapital retainedearnings totalequity

Balance at 1 January 2008 128 34 162

netprofit 3,269 3,269

finaldividend2007 -34 -34

interimdividend -3,237 -3,237

Balance at 31 December 2008 128 32 160


finaldividend2008 -32 -32


Balance at 31 December 2009 128 30 158

Retainedearningsof€30millionrepresenttheproposedfinaldividend.Thetotalearningsfor2009

amountedto€7,765pershare.Thiswasa32%decreaseincomparisonto2008.Pleasealsorefer

tonote14.


Statement of Cash Flows

inmillionsofeuros

2009 2008

Operating activities

netprofitfromcontinuingoperations 2,211 3,269

conversiontonetcashprovidedbyoperatingactivities

-incomefromparticipations -52 -51

-dividendreceived 52 51

-depreciationandamortization 462 501

-changeinworkingcapital* 142 342

-changeinprovisions -11 28

-interest -onprofit 67 64

-received 20 26

-paid -56 -69

-taxes -onprofit 739 1,111

-received - -

-paid -774 -1,055

-transfers 45 30

634 977

Net cash provided by operating activities 2,845 4,246

Investing activities

property,plantandequipment -713 -651

Netcashusedininvestingactivities -713 -651

Financing activities

profitdistribution -2,481 -3,069

loanstakenup - -

repaymentofloans - -

changeindebtstocreditinstitutions 281 -476

Net cash provided by financing activities -2,200 -3,545

Change in cash and cash equivalents -68 50

Balance cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 68 18

Balance cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 0 68

* change in working capital

- inventories -3 6

- receivables 849 -442

- current liabilities (excluding loans, debts to credit institutions and profit distribution) -704 778

142 342


(1) General information

Allamountsintheseexplanatorynotesareinmillionsofeuros,unlessstatedotherwise.

Estimatesandassessmentshavetobemadeforthepreparationofthefinancial

statements.Thesehaveconsequencesfortheamountsreportedforassetsandliabilities,

incomeandexpenditureitemsandtherelatedreportingofprovisionalassetsandliabilities

onthedateofthefinancialstatements.Theresultscanbeinfluencedbysuchestimates

andassessments.Inthosecases,theseexplanatorynotessetouttheprinciplesthat

managementconsiderstobethemostimportantandthatareusuallythemostdifficultto

estimateduetointrinsicuncertainties.Theprovisionfordecommissioningandrestoration

costsislargelybasedoninformationprovidedbytheoperators.Inprinciple,EBNadheres

totheinformationprovidedbyoperatorsregardingproductiondata.Provenandprobable

gasandoilreservesaredeterminedinaccordancewiththedefinitionslaiddownbySPE,

WPC,AAPGandSPEEinthePetroleumResourcesManagementSystem.Foramore

detailedexplanationofthemannerinwhichthisprovisioniscalculated,pleasereferto

the“Principlesforthevaluationofassetsandliabilitiesanddeterminationofprofit”,

‘Provisions’section,onpage59.

TheExecutiveBoardemphasisesthatfutureeventscandifferfromprojectionsandthat

estimatesmustbeadjustedregularly.

Notes to the Financial Statements of Energie Beheer Nederland B.V.


Notes to the statement of comprehensive income

(2) Net sales

EBNperformsonemainactivity:explorationforandproductionofnaturalgasandoil.EBNhas

thereforedecidednottoprovidesegmentedinformationinthenotestothefinancialstatements.

TheentiresaleswereachievedintheNetherlands.TheassetsinwhichEBNparticipatesarealso

locatedintheNetherlands.Informationonthemaindebtorscanbefoundinnote23.

Netsalesin2009fromordinaryactivitiesamountedto€6,387million,representingadecreaseof

€2,311million(-27%)comparedto2008.

Theconsiderablereductioninsaleswasmainlyduetothelowerpricesachievedonsales(-23%),while

volumesalsodroppedby4%.Therelativelylowsalesofoil(1%ofthetotal)fellby65%in2009.This

reductionwasmainlyattributabletoasignificantfallinproductionandalsotolowerpricesperbarrel.

(3 en 4) Levies and operating costs

2009 2008

levies 2,238 3,136

operatingcosts 722 669

Levieswere€898million(-29%)lowerthanin2008.Thisitemmainlycomprisesthespecialpayments

madetotheDutchStateinrespectofproductionfromtheGroningenfieldin2009.Inotherwords,

theMORpaymentsamountingto€2,127millionandtheState’sshare€96million.Thedecreasein

thepaymentstotheStatein2009wasmainlyduetolowergaspricesin2009.Operatingcostsrelate

mainlytoproductionandtransportcosts.

InviewofEBN’sautonomisation,thecompanystartedofferingitsemployeesnewemployment

contractsfromthestartof2008.Attheendof2009,however,someemployeeswerestillseconded

byDSMtoEBN.Totalsalarycostsareincludedinoperatingcostsandamountedin2009to

€7.2million(2008:€6.7million),ofwhich€5.3millioncomprisedgrosssalaries,€0.3millionsocial

securitycosts,€1.0millionpensioncostsand€0.6millionothercosts.


EBNhasadefinedbenefitpensionscheme,whichhasbeenpartoftheABPPensionFundsince

1January2008.EBNadministerstheschemeasadefinedcontributionpensionschemebecause

theinformationrequiredforactuarialcalculationsisnotavailable.Asatthebalancesheetdate,the

companydidnothaveanycontractualobligations–otherthanthepossibilityofhighercontributionsin

future–topayadditionalamountsintheeventofthepensionfundbeingindeficit.

(5) Depreciation and amortisation

2009 2008

depreciationofproperty,plantandequipment 433 409

depreciationofproperty,plantandequipmentbyreasonofabandonment 29 92

Total 462 501

Depreciationofthedecommissioningandrestorationcostsofassetsdecreasedconsiderablyasaresult

ofareductionintheestimateoftherequireddecommissioningandrestorationcosts.Pleaserefertonote

15forfurtherinformation.

(6) Financial income and expense

2009 2008

interestincome 22 26

otherfinancialincome - -

totalfinancialincome 22 26

interestexpense -52 -60

interestexpenseondiscountedprovisions -27 -24

otherfinancialexpenses -10 -5

totalfinancialexpenses -89 -89

Net financing costs -67 -63


Despitetheconsiderablyhigheramountofcashavailableintheyearunderreview,interestincomewas

lowerthanin2008.Thiswasmainlyduetothesharpfallinshort-termmarketinterestrates.Likewise,

interestexpensewaslowerasaresultofthelowerinterestratepayableoncommercialpaper.

Otherfinancialexpensesin2009were€5millionhigherasaresultofloansbeingshownatamortised

costandderivativesbeingshownatfairvalue.

(7) Result of associates

2009 2008

-GasTerraB.V. 14 14

-NOGATB.V. 31 29

-NGT-Extensie 7 8

52 51

(8) Taxes

2009 2008

Current tax expense

-currentyear 777 1,103

-adjustmentforpreviousyear 0 8

Deferred tax expense

-arisingfromtemporarydifferences -38 -

Total 739 1,111

Theeffectivetaxchargefor2009was25.5%,virtuallythesameasin2008(25.6%).Thenominal

corporationtaxrateintheNetherlandsamountedto25.5%in2009(2008:25.5%).


Netdeferredtaxassetsandliabilitiesdecreasedby€38millionasaresultofthefollowing:

2009 2008

Balance at 1 January

-deferredtaxassets 36 34

-deferredtaxliabilities -114 -113

Total at 1 January -78 -79

Movements:

-tangibleassets 49 2

-provisions -11 -1

Balance sheet at 31 December -40 -78

ofwhich:

-deferredtaxassets 25 36

-deferredtaxliabilities -65 -114

Wedefinedeferredtaxassetsandliabilitiesasfuturetaxassetsandliabilitiesarising,forexample,

fromtimingdifferencesbetweentheamountscalculatedinaccordancewithcommercialprinciples

andthosecalculatedfortaxpurposes.

(9) Net profit

Thenetprofitfor2009fromcontinuingactivitiesamountedto€2,211million,whichwas

€1,058million(-32%)lowerthanin2008.


(10) Property, plant and equipment

Thecompositionofanddevelopmentsinthisitemareshowninthefollowingtable:

inmillionsofeuros

total

production,transport

andstoragefacilities wells

reimburse-ments

capitalisationof

abandonmentcosts

capitalexpenditure

&wellsunderconstruction

Balance at 1 January 2009

cost 10,244 5,421 2,280 1,412 734 397

depreciationandamortization 6,840 3,946 1,470 1,136 288 -

Carryingamount 3,404 1,475 810 276 446 397

Changes in 2009

cost:

-capitalexpenditure 713 171 73 16 - 453

-puntintooperation - 171 148 - - -319

-capitalisationofborrowingcosts 0 - - - - 0

-capitalisationofabandonmentcosts -163 - - - -163 -

-decommissioned -36 -33 -6 - 3 -

-otherchanges -45 - 0 - - -45

depreciation and amortization:

-depreciationandamortization -462 -240 -172 -21 -29 -

-decommissioned 37 34 6 - -3 -

44 103 49 -5 -192 89

Balance at year-end 2009

cost 10,713 5,730 2,495 1,428 574 486

depreciationandamortization 7,265 4,152 1,636 1,157 320 0

Carrying amount 3,448 1,578 859 271 254 486

Notes to the balance sheet


Capitalexpenditurein2009,amountingto€713million,was24%higherthanin2008(€576million).

Thiswasallocatedfor€238million(2008:€129million)toonshoreprojectsandfor€475million

(2008:€447million)tooffshoreprojects.

Thereductionintheamountcapitalisedfortheestimateddecommissioningandrestorationcostsofinstallations

in2009wasanegative€163million(2008:positive€93million).Pleaserefertonote15forfurtherinformation.

AsaresultoftheapplicationofIAS23“borrowingcosts”,anamountof€0.3million(appliedrate3.8%)

wascapitalisedaspartofthecostsfortheBergermeergasstorage.

(11) Associates

EBNdefinesasassociatesits40%participationinGasTerraB.V.,its45%participationinNOGATB.V.anda

numberofsmallerparticipations,includingthe12%participationintheNGTExtension.Thelatterparticipationis

includedunder‘sundry’.

Associatesareshownonthebasisoftheequitymethod.Theresultisdistributedannually,andsothereisno

changeintheamountsforwhichtheparticipationsareshowninthebalancesheet.

GasTerra NOGAT other

2009

total GasTerra NOGAT other

2008

total

Balance at 1 January 86 13 14 113 86 13 14 113

shareofprofits 14 30 8 52 14 29 8 51

dividendreceived -14 -30 -8 -52 -14 -29 -8 -51

Balance at 31 December 86 13 14 113 86 13 14 113

ThefollowingtableshowssummarisedfinancialinformationontheassociatesGasTerraB.V.,NOGATB.V.

andtheNGTExtensionona 100%-basis.


GasTerrraNOGATNGT-

Extensie2009total GasTerrra NOGAT

NGT-Extensie

2008total

balancesheettotalassets 3,295 129 11 3,435 5,257 122 15 5,394

liabilities 3,079 6 8 3,093 5,039 3 8 5,050

netsales 18,310 113 76 18,499 23,953 101 86 24,140

netprofit 36 71 57 164 36 65 64 165

(12) Inventories

2009 2008

materials 7 7

condensateandoil 5 2

Total 12 9

(13) Receivables

Thesecanbespecifiedasfollows:

2009 2008

accountsreceivablesfromassociates 883 1,751

othertradeaccountsreceivable 120 88

totaltradeaccountsreceivable 1,003 1,839

otherreceivablesanddeferreditems 4 17

Total 1,007 1,856

Receivablesfellby€849million(-46%),mainlyasaresultofpricesinthefourthquarterof2009beinglower

thaninthefourthquarterof2008.

Theitem‘Associates’relatestoGasTerraB.V.,inwhichEBNparticipatesfor40%.Thetermsofpayment

agreedwithGasTerraB.V.varyfrom30to60days;thesetermsarecompliedwith.

Forinformationonfinancialriskspleaserefertonote19.


(14) Shareholder’s equity

2009 2008

Balance at 1 January 160 162


finaldividendpreviousyear -32 -34


Balance at 31 December 158 160

EachmonthEBNpaystheestimatedoractualprofittotheshareholder.Theseperiodicprofit

paymentslargelydetermineEBN’sbalancesheetstructureandresultinacomparativelysmall

amountofshareholders’equity.Ontheotherhand,thecompanyhasverysubstantialcashflow

throughouttheyear.EBN’sfinancingpolicyisbasedonmaintainingfreeaccesstothemaincapital

markets.Tothisend,EBNhasratingsfromMoody’sandStandard&Poor’s,andthesehavebeen

stableformanyyearsattripleA.

Issuedandpaid-insharecapitalamountedto€128millionatthe2009year-end(2008:€128million),

consistingof284,750shares,eachwithanominalvalueof€450.00.

Theproposedfinaldividendof€30millionwillbedistributedaftertheGeneralMeetingofShareholders

hasadoptedthefinancialstatements.Thisamountisthetotalofthenetprofitof€2,211millionless

theinterimdividenddistributedof€2,181million.Theproposedfinaldividendhasnotbeendeducted

fromshareholder’sequity.


(15) Provisions

Provisionsfordecommissioningandrestorationcostscovercommitmentswithtermsof1to30

years.Provisionsforgroundsubsidencealsocovercommitmentswithtermsof1to30years.

Totalprovisionsdecreasedby€136million,asshowninthefollowingtable:

abandonmentcosts subsidence total

Balance at 1 January 2008 1,214 56 1,270

additions - 3 3

used -14 - -14

revision 107 - 107

interest 24 - 24

Balance at 31 december 2009 1,331 59 1,391

additions - 1 1

used -10 - -10

revision -153 - -153

interest 27 - 27

Balance at 31 december 2009 1,195 60 1,255

Thedownwardadjustmenttotheprovisionfordecommissioningandrestorationcostsof

€136millionismainlyduetotheupdatingoftheestimatedcostsofabandoninginstallations.

Themainreasonforthisisafallinrigratesandnewinsightsonthedatesonwhichproduction

willend.

Thepresentvaluesweredeterminedusingthesamediscountrate(2%)asin2008

(realinterestmethod).


(16) Short-term and long-term borrowings

total

2009ofwhich

shortterm total

2008ofwhich

shortterm

debentureloans 1,193 302 1,189 -

privateloans 113 - 115 -

commercialpaperstakenup 762 762 427 427

Total 2,068 1,064 1,731 427

Theincreaseinoutstandinglong-termborrowingsamountedto€337million(19%),mainlyasaresult

offundingtheyear-enddeficitwithcommercialpaper.In2010,twoloansamountingtoCHF450

millionintotalwillberedeemed.Theseareshownasshort-termloansin2009.

Nosecurityhasbeenprovidedfortheoutstandingloans(totalremainingdebtatthe2009year-end:

€2,068million).Theloanagreementscontainprovisionsthatlimittheprovisionofsecurity.

Long-term borrowings

Long-termborrowingsinthebalancesheetcomprisethefollowing:

2009 2008

CHF 100million 2.315% publicloan 2004/2010 - 67

JPY 5,000million 1.59% privateloan 2004/2014 38 37

CHF 350million 1.625% publicloan 2005/2010 - 236

CHF 350million 1.75% publicloan 2005/2012 235 234




JPY 10,000million 1.775% privateloan 2007/2017 76 78

1,004 1,304


Loansinforeigncurrencieshavebeenconvertedintoeurosusingswaps.Alllong-termloanshave

fixedinterestrates,withtheexceptionoftheJPY2004/2014loan,whichwasconvertedtoavariable-

interestloaninOctober2009.Theaverageinterestrateonalllong-termsloansin2009was3.7%

(2008:3.8%).

Thefollowingtableliststheoutstandingloans,includingtheloansthathavetoberepaidwithin

ayear,inorderoftheirtermtomaturity.Thetableshowsoutstandingloans,excludingdebtsto

financecompanies.

withinoneyear 302

within1to2years -

within2to3years 235

within3to4years 302

within4to5years 391

after5years 76

Total 1,306

Morethan50%oftheoutstandinglong-termloanshavearemainingtermtomaturityofmore

thanthreeyears.

(17) Other non-current liabilities

Thisitemrelatesmainlytoadebtof€17milliontotheDutchStateresultingfromtheGasTerraB.V.

stockdividend.


(18) Other current liabilities

Thisitemcanbespecifiedasfollows:

2009 2008

tradeaccountspayable 254 154

interestpayments 12 12

levies 375 1,028

otherliabilities 252 535

Total 893 1,729

ThedecreaseinleviesismainlyduetothelowerMORobligation.

(19) Financial derivatives

Policytocontrolfinancialrisks

General

ThemainfinancialrisksforEBNaretheliquidityrisk,thecreditriskandthemarketrisk(consisting

oftheinterestrateriskandcurrencyrisk).EBN’sfinancialpolicyfocuses,intheshortterm,on

limitingtheeffectsofcurrencyandinterest-ratefluctuationsontheresult,and,inthelongterm,on

monitoringthedevelopmentofmarketexchangeratesandmarketinterestrates.EBNusesfinancial

derivativestomanagetheinterestrateandcurrencyrisksrelating,inparticular,tothefundingofits

activities.Thecompanydoesnottakeanyspeculativepositionswithfinancialderivatives.

Liquidity risk

EBNhasacommercialpaperprogrammeof€2,000million.Thisisthesameasin2008.

Atthe2009year-end,€1,238millionofthishadnotbeendrawn.ItisEBN’spolicynottorepayloans

andassociatedderivativesearly,butinsteadtorepaythemonthecontractuallyagreedmaturitydate.


Thefollowingtableshowsthescheduleofexpectedrepayments,alongwiththeinterestpayableonthe

loansandthecostsofsettlingtheassociatedderivatives:

2009 2009 2008

borrowingsInterest

paymentscashat

redemption cashswaptotal

cashouttotal

cashout

withinoneyear 302 -44 -302 12 -334 -45

within1to2years - -36 - - -36 -335

within2to3years 235 -36 -235 9 -262 -35

within3to4years 302 -26 -302 14 -314 -262

within4to5years 391 -15 -391 39 -367 -315

after5years 76 -1 -76 15 -62 -428

Total 1,306 -158 -1,306 89 -1,375 -1,420

Cashmovementsinshort-termloansandshort-termreceivableswillbeeffectedwithinayearandatthe

carryingamounts.

Credit risk in connection with deposits

EBNlimitsthecreditriskbyonlydoingbusinesswithfinancialinstitutionswithhighcreditworthinessand

bysettingspecificcreditlimitsforeachfinancialinstitution(atleastP1orA2accordingtoMoody’s).Due

totheseasonalpattern,themaximumpositiveliquiditypositionduring2009amountedto€2,071million

andoccurredinthemonthofApril.ThankstoEBN’srisk-avoidancepolicy,EBNdidnotsufferanylossesin

2009asaconsequenceofthebankingcrisis.

ThemaximumcreditrisktowhichEBNisexposedconsistsmainlyoftheamountithasondepositat

financecompaniesatanytime.Onthereportingdate,therewasnocauseforreducingthecompany’s

maximumcreditriskbyreasonofsignificantagreementsorfinancialinstruments.

Debtor risk

In2009,EBNsold93%(2008:92%)ofitssalestoGasTerra,whichisahigh-qualitydebtor.


Interest rate risk

Theobjectiveoftheinterestrateriskpolicyistolimitinterestraterisksarisingfromthefundingof

thecompanyandthustooptimisenetinterestexpense.Ofthefundsborrowedforlongerterms

(includingamountstoberepaidwithinoneyear),nomorethan60%willhaveavariableinterestrate.

Withoneexception,alllong-termloanshavefixedratesofinterest.

Thefollowinganalysisofthesensitivityofloansdrawndownandtherelatedinterestratederivatives

isbasedonadirectchangeof1percentagepointintheinterestratesforallcurrenciesandmaturities

asat31December2009.Allothervariablesareassumedtobeunchanged.Areductionof1%in

interestrateswouldresultinanestimateddecreaseof€8millioninnetfundingexpense,based

onthepositionasat31December2009.Anincreaseof1%ininterestrateswouldresultinan

estimatedincreaseof€8millioninnetfundingexpenses.

Thefollowingtableshowsthesensitivityofthefairvalueofthefinancialinstrumentstochangesin

interestratesasat31December2009:

2009carryingamount marketvalue

changemarketvalue

+1%

changemarketvalue

-1%

cashandcashequivalents 0 0 - -

short-termborrowings -1,064 -1,067 5 -5

long-termborrowings -1,004 -1,020 37 -39

crosscurrencyswapsusedforlong-termborrowings 78 78 -9 10

forwardexchangecontractsusedforshort-termborrowings 20 20 0 0

forwardexchangecontractsusedforhedging - - - -

In2008,totalsensitivitytochangesininterestrateswithregardtothefairvalueofthefinancial

instrumentsrangedbetweenapositiveamountof€46million(+1%changeininterestrates)anda

negative€49million(-1%changeininterestrates).


Currency risk

EBNfullyhedgescurrencyrisksarisingfrompurchasesandsalesatthetimethatthetradereceivables

ortradeliabilitiesarise.

Therewerenopositionstobehedgedatthe2009year-end,aswasthecaseatthe2008year-end.

Thefollowinganalysisofthesensitivityofthenetdebt(includingfinancialderivatives)tofluctuationsin

exchangeratesagainsttheeuroisbasedona10%changeinallexchangeratesversustheeuro,based

ontheirlevelat31December2009,withallothervariablesremainingunchanged.Achangeof+10%

impliesthattheeuroweakensagainsttheforeigncurrencies,whileachangeof-10%impliesthatthe

eurostrengthensagainsttheforeigncurrencies.

2009carryingamount marketvalue

changeinvalue+10%

changeinvalue-10%

cashandcashequivalents 0 0 - -

short-termborrowings -1,064 -1,067 -64 53

long-termborrowings -1,004 -1,020 -114 93

crosscurrencyswapsusedforlong-termborrowings 78 78 117 -96

forwardexchangecontractsusedforshort-termborrowings 20 20 64 -53

forwardexchangecontractsusedforhedging - - - -

In2008,thesensitivitytomovementsinexchangeratesrangedbetweenapositive€4million

(+10%changeinallexchangerates)andanegative€4million(-10%changeinallexchangerates).


Market value of financial instruments

Thetablebelowsummarisesthecarryingamountsandtheestimatedmarketvaluesoffinancial

instruments.

31December2009 31December2008

carryingamount marketvalue carryingamount marketvalue

Assets

associates 113 113 113 113

currentreceivables 1,007 1,007 1,856 1,856

financialderivatives 98 98 96 96

cashandcashequivalents 0 0 68 68

Liablilties

long-termborrowings 1,004 1,020 1,304 1,303

short-termborrowings 1,064 1,067 427 425

financialderivatives 0 0 22 22

othercurrentliabilities 1,139 1,139 2,146 2,146

Themarketvalueoffinancialinstrumentsisdeterminedonthebasisofthefollowingmethodsand

assumptions:short-termreceivables,cashandcashequivalentsandshort-termdebtsareshown

attheircarryingamounts.Inviewoftheshorttermtomaturityoftheseinstruments,theseamounts

areclosetotheirmarketvalues.

Themarketvaluesofloansandfinancialderivativesassociatedwithlong-termloansarecalculated

onthebasisofthenetpresentvaluemodel,applicablemarketinterestcurvesandexchangerates.

Theinformationneededtocalculatethesefairvaluesisbasedonobservablemarketdata,obtained

fromaccessiblemarketparties(includingReuters)deemedreliableandindependent.


Thefollowingtablesummarisesthecarryingamountsoffinancialderivativesspecifiedaccordingtotype

andobjective:

currentassets

currentliabilities total

interestrateswaps - - -

currencyswaps 96 -22 74

Balance at 31 December 2008 96 -22 74

interestrateswaps - - -

currencyswaps 98 - 98

Balance at 31 December 2009 98 - 98


(20) Rights and obligations not shown in the balance sheet

Asindicatedintheaccountingprincipleswithrespecttothevaluationofassetsandliabilities

andthedeterminationoftheresult,EBNparticipatesinnumerousjointventures.Thebasis

forthisislaiddowninagreementsofcooperation,fromwhichmulti-yearfinancialrightsand

obligationsariseforthefuture.Itisimpracticaltodeterminethesizeofthesefuturefinancial

rightsandobligations.Asanindication,theremainingobligationsatthe2009year-endfor

threemajorinvestmentprojects(Schoonebeekoilproduction,theBergermeergasstorage

facilityandtheK5CUgas-developmentproject)amountedto€447million.

EBN’s(in)directshareingasreservesfromfieldsinwhichEBNpartipatesamountson

December31st,2009491miljardm3GE.

(21) Net debt

2009 2008

Borrowings

long-termborrowings 1,004 1,304

short-termborrowings 1,064 427

Total Borrowings 2,068 1,731

cashandcashequivalents 0 -68

financialderivatives,assets -98 -96(whereapplicablealsoseenote19)

financial derivatives, liabilities 0 22

Net debt (A) 1,970 1,589

Shareholders' equity (B) 158 160

Gearing ratio A/(A+B)*100% 93% 91%

Other explanatory notes


(22) Notes on the cash flow statement

Thecashflowstatementwaspreparedonthebasisoftheindirectmethodandacomparison

wasmadebetweentheopeningandclosingbalancesheets.Changesnotresultinginan

infloworoutflowofcash,suchasexchangeratemovements,weresubsequentlyeliminated.

Theseincludevalueadjustmentsandtransfersbetweenaccountsinthebalancesheet.

Movementsinthecashflowstatementcanlargelybederivedfromthestatementsofchanges

intherelevantbalancesheetitems.

(23) Related parties

UndertheGasAct,GasTerraB.V.andEBNareassociatedcompanies.EBNhasatotalof62

contractswithGasTerraB.V.andaninterestineachcontractofatleast€5million.

Ofthenetsalesof€6,387million,€5,930millionwasgeneratedthroughGasTerraB.V.

(2008:€8,698millionand€8,037millionrespectively).

Thefigureshownforreceivablein2009includesanamountof€883million

(2008:€1,751million)relatingtodeliveriestoGasTerraB.V.

TheDutchState,beingtheshareholder,canberegardedasanrelatedparty.


(24) Directors’ remuneration

TwomembersofEBN’sExecutiveBoardhaveemploymentcontractswithEBNandthe

otherBoardmemberhasbeensecondedbyDSM.Thetotalremunerationpaidtothe

ExecutiveBoardin2009amountedto€0.8million(2008:€0.7million).Inviewoftheexisting

agreementswithDSMonthismatter,nospecificationofthesalariescanbeprovided.

RemunerationoftheSupervisoryBoardmembersamountedto€0.1millionin2009

(2008:€0.1million).

(25) Fees paid to external auditors

FeespaidtoErnst&Young,whichareincludedinoperatingcosts,amountedin2009to

€518,000forauditservices(companyandjointventureaudits)(2008:€517,000),€5,000

fortaxadvice(2008:€8,000)and€11,000forotherservices(2007:€11,000).

Utrecht,24March2010

ExecutiveBoard

J.D.Bokhoven

J.W.P.M.Haenen

D.G.Roest

SupervisoryBoard

R.M.J.vanderMeer

A.H.P.GratamavanAndel

G-J.Kramer

H.M.C.M.vanOorschot


ProfitsareappropriatedinaccordancewiththeprovisionsinArticle21ofthecompany’sArticlesof

Association.Totheshareholder:

• anamountwillannualybedistributedasaspecialdistributionofprofits;

• theremainingamountwillbedistributedasdividend.

Profitappropriation


To the General Meeting of Shareholders of Energie Beheer Nederland B.V.

Auditor’sreport

Report on the financial statements

Wehaveauditedtheaccompanyingfinancialstatements

2009ofEnergieBeheerNederlandB.V.,Utrecht,which

comprisethebalancesheetasatDecember31,2009,

thestatementofcomprehensiveincome,statementof

changesinequityandcashflowstatementfortheyear

thenendedandasummaryofsignificantaccounting

policiesandotherexplanatorynotes.

Board of Directors’ responsibility

TheBoardofDirectorsisresponsibleforthe

preparationandfairpresentationofthefinancial

statementsinaccordancewithInternationalFinancial

ReportingStandardsasadoptedbytheEuropean

UnionandwithPart9ofBook2oftheNetherlands

CivilCode,andforthepreparationofthereportofthe

BoardofDirectorsinaccordancewithPart9ofBook

2oftheNetherlandsCivilCode.Thisresponsibility

includes:designing,implementingandmaintaining

internalcontrolrelevanttothepreparationandfair

presentationofthefinancialstatementsthatarefree

frommaterialmisstatement,whetherduetofraudor

error;selectingandapplyingappropriateaccounting

policies;andmakingaccountingestimatesthatare

reasonableinthecircumstances.

Auditor’s responsibility

Ourresponsibilityistoexpressanopiniononthe

financialstatementsbasedonouraudit.Weconducted

ourauditinaccordancewithDutchlaw.Thislaw

requiresthatwecomplywithethicalrequirements

andplanandperformtheaudittoobtainreasonable

assurancewhetherthefinancialstatementsarefree

frommaterialmisstatement.

Anauditinvolvesperformingprocedurestoobtain

auditevidenceabouttheamountsanddisclosures

inthefinancialstatements.Theproceduresselected

dependontheauditor’sjudgment,includingthe

assessmentoftherisksofmaterialmisstatementofthe

financialstatements,whetherduetofraudorerror.In


makingthoseriskassessments,theauditorconsiders

internalcontrolrelevanttotheentity’spreparationand

fairpresentationofthefinancialstatementsinorder

todesignauditproceduresthatareappropriateinthe

circumstances,butnotforthepurposeofexpressing

anopinionontheeffectivenessoftheentity’s

internalcontrol.Anauditalsoincludesevaluatingthe

appropriatenessofaccountingpoliciesusedandthe

reasonablenessofaccountingestimatesmadebythe

BoardofDirectors,aswellasevaluatingtheoverall

presentationofthefinancialstatements.

Webelievethattheauditevidencewehaveobtained

issufficientandappropriatetoprovideabasisforour

auditopinion.

Opinion

Inouropinion,thefinancialstatementsgiveatrueand

fairviewofthefinancialpositionofEnergieBeheer

NederlandB.V.asatDecember31,2009,andofits

resultanditscashflowsfortheyearthenendedin

accordancewithInternationalFinancialReporting

StandardsasadoptedbytheEuropeanUnionand

withPart9ofBook2oftheNetherlandsCivilCode.

Report on other legal and regulatory requirements

Pursuanttothelegalrequirementunder2:393sub5

partfoftheNetherlandsCivilCode,wereport,tothe

extentofourcompetence,thatthereportofBoardof

Directorsisconsistentwiththefinancialstatementsas

requiredby2:391sub4oftheNetherlandsCivilCode.

Maastricht,24March2010

forErnst&YoungAccountantsLLP

signedbyP.L.C.M.Janssen


Glossary

Cluster Locationfromwhichmultiplewellscanbedrilled

CorporateGovernanceCode Codeofbehaviourforcompanieslistedonthestockexchange

COSO CommitteeofSponsoringOrganizationsoftheTreadwayCommission

CSR CorporateSocialResponsibility

Dashboard Reviewofcompany-specificperformanceindicators

EBN EnergieBeheerNederlandB.V.

E&P Explorationandproduction

EZ DutchMinistryofEconomicAffairs

Gasgebouw Public-privatecooperationintheGroningenPartnershipandGasTerra

GE Groningenequivalent

HSE Health,SafetyandEnvironment

HR HumanResources

ICT InformationandCommunicationTechnologies

IFRS InternationalFinancialReportingStandards

IMS IntegratedManagementSystem

LNG LiquefiedNaturalGas


NAM NederlandseAardolieMaatschappij(DutchoilcompanyinwhichRoyalDutchShellandExxonMobilhaveequalshares)

NOGEPA NetherlandsOilandGasExplorationandProductionAssociation

Offshore Atsea

Onshore Onland

Scorecard Reviewofdepartment-specificperformanceindicators

SodM=SSM StaatstoezichtopdeMijnen=StateSupervisionofMines

TNO NetherlandsOrganisationforAppliedScience

Treasury Managementofthecompany’sfunds


Key figures

EBN ten-year summaryamountsinmillionsofeuros

IFRS2009

IFRS2008

IFRS2007

IFRS2006

IFRS2005 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

No. of EBN joint ventures:

-productiononshore 22 21 20 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

-productionoffshore 103 100 95 85 85 85 77 77 70 66 63

-exploration 45 41 26 17 19 19 22 26 31 40 3

sales(billionm3,100%) 70 73 64 66 67 67 72 63 64 66 60

changein%comparedtopreviousyear(100%) -5 +11 -3 -1 -7 -7 +15 -4 -4 +10 -3

-fromGroningen (billionm3,EBNshare) 15 16 12 13 13 13 13 11 10 10 8

-fromsmallfields (billionm3,EBNshare) 14 15 15 15 15 15 18 15 17 19 18

-totalsales (billionm3,EBNshare) 29 30 27 28 28 28 30 26 27 28 26

average selling price of gas

(€-centsperm3,35,17MJ/m3) 20.72 26.91 20.67 21.52 16.46 16.46 13.17 13.88 12.55 13.93 11.33

sales from:

-continuingoperations 6,387 8,698 6,090 6,264 4,883 4,883 4,230 3,872 3,633 4,146 3,144

-discontinuingoperations 3,384 3,384

total sales 6,387 8,698 6,090 6,264 8,267 8,267 4,230 3,872 3,633 4,146 3,144

changefromcontinuingoperationsin%comparedtothepreviousyear -27 +43 -3 +28 +15 +15 +9 +7 -12 +32 +48

net profit from:

-continuingoperations 2,211 3,269 2,367 2,378 1,673 1,637 1,534 1,380 1,296 1,590 1,184

- discontinuing operations 2,154 2,154

total net profit 2,211 3,269 2,367 2,378 3,827 3,791 1,534 1,380 1,296 1,590 1,184

netprofitfromcontinuingoperationsin%ofsales 35 38 39 38 34 34 36 36 36 38 38

property, plant and equipment:

-capitalexpenditureonshore 238 129 277 146 121 121 143 138 125 80 62

-capitalexpenditureoffshore 475 447 405 478 446 446 207 316 325 225 246

-abandonment -163 93 137 273 149

totalcapitalexpenditure 550 669 819 896 716 567 350 454 450 305 308

depreciationandamortization 462 501 494 403 374 376 337 344 334 342 347

shareholders'equity 158 160 162 290 237 437 348 329 280 129 129

gearingratio(%) 93 91 93 86

outsidecapital 4,520 5,386 4,664 3,902 3,437 2,977 2,730 2,592 2,746 2,728 2,775

ContactsKey figures

Visiting address Visiting address

EBN Utrecht EBN Heerlen

Moreelsepark 48 Het Overloon 1

3511 EP Utrecht 6411 TE Heerlen

Postal address

P.O. Box 19063

3501 DB Utrecht

T +31 (0)30-2339001

F +31 (0)30-2339051

E [email protected]

Copy

Tekst & Speech, Haren

Design and layout

Bovil DDB, Eindhoven

Photography

Roy Beusker, Den Haag

Print

Drukkerij van Meurs, Ridderkerk

© 2010 EBN

No part of this publication may be copied and/or made public by means of printing.

photocopy, microfilm or in any other way whatsoever without EBN’s prior written consent.

2009 2008

Number of participations 181 171

of which pertaining to exploration 45 41

Sales volume, EBN share (billion m3)1 29 30

EBN's (in)direct share in reserves (billion m3 GE) 491 507

Sales (from continuing operations) 6,387 8,698

Net profit from continuing operations 2,211 3,269

State income via EBN 5,188 7,516

Capital expenditure 713 576

Depreciation and amortization 462 501

Number of employees 79 61

1 This includes the proportional part of sales from onshore production licenses in which

EBN has no equity share but is entitled to a proportional share of the revenues. Unless

stated otherwise, all quantities in this report are expressed in billion m3 of natural gas

(35,17 M at 0 degrees Centigrade) based on EBN’s participation percentage.

Annual R

eport 2009 - Unprecedented opportunities

Annual Report 2009Unprecedented opportunities

Documents

Annual Report 2009 Unprecedented opportunities · 2020. 5. 14. · EBN Anual Report 2009 | 2 Preface ‘Unprecedented opportunities’: that is the theme of EBN’s 2009 annual report