(Adds economy minister comment)
AMSTERDAM, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Dutch gas exports toneighboring countries cannot be cut before 2024 becausetechnical adjustments need to be made so those countries can usegas from other sources, Economy Minister Henk Kamp toldparliament Tuesday.
The remarks came after the Labour party, the junior partnerin the coalition government, called for a faster reduction ofgas exports to Germany, France and Belgium.
The call for reduced exports comes as Netherlands strugglesto meet its own energy demand. Output has fallen at itsGroningen gas field and the Dutch are trying to reduce relianceon Russian imports.
Production at the Groningen gas field, which suppliesroughly 10 percent of the European Union's gas requirements, isbeing cut back to reduce the risk of small earthquakes.
Labour member of parliament Frank Vos said the party wouldprefer exports were reduced in 2018-2020, before thegovernment's target of 2024, so the gas can be used to powerDutch businesses and homes.
Gas grid operator Gasunie is building a facility to convertgas from Norway or Russia to make it suitable for homes suppliedby Groningen gas, which has a different chemical composition.
Conversions in Germany, Belgium and France will be completedby 2024, Kamp said.
"I don't have a suggestion that it can be done faster in aresponsible fashion," he said. "I don't' want to create theimpression that it's possible to speed up the process."
In December, the Dutch government set production at theGroningen gas field at 27 billion cubic meters (bcm) throughOctober 2016, down from an initial 39.4 bcm, in line with acourt order to limit the risk of earthquakes.
In addition to industrial uses, Groningen gas is pumped to most of 17 million households in the Netherlands and to severalmillion more in neighbouring countries. Germany had already saidit plans to cut imports from Groningen to zero by 2030. (Reporting by Anthony Deutsch, editing by Larry King)
