Lessons learnt from the FES important for the establishment of the Future Fund
Three scenarios for the future of natural gas revenues
Natural gas has earned the State of the Netherlands €265 billion since 1960. As most of the money has been spent through the general budget, there is no direct relationship between revenue and expenditure. There is only one exception. Between 1996 and 2010 some of the revenue, €26 billion, was spent on infrastructure projects such as road, rail and nature projects, through the Economic Structure Enhancing Fund (FES), an allocation fund. This was based on the principle adhered to at the time of turning ‘underground capital into surface capital’. In the Court of Audit’s opinion, the lessons that can be learnt from the FES and from funds formed using revenues from natural resources in other countries can be used for the Future Fund being established at the request of the House of Representatives. Three scenarios have been worked out. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The Court of Audit describes them in its report Use of natural gas revenues: facts, figures and scenarios, which it published on 7 October 2014.