For almost fifteen years Dutch gas production (oil production was insignificant in relative terms) was almost entirely dependent upon the Groningen gas field. Nevertheless, following the first oil crisis in 1973-1974 the Dutch government designed a new energy policy, which saved Groningen as a strategic reserve to be used over a longer period, and promoted the exploitation of marginal fields via the Small Fields Policy.
Until the end of 2002, the Netherlands had a Depreciation At Will (DAW) policy that encouraged the fast exploration of existing fields by offering companies tax breaks. But, as reserves decreased, the authorities decided there was no need to hurry up exploration and dropped the DAW. Pressure from the industry managed to partly reinstate it and, in September 2009, the Dutch parliament approved new tax incentives to small fields with marginal economics.