Important milestone in the CO2 storage project

The Northern Lights project is the transport and storage part of the Norwegian demonstration project for full-scale CO₂ capture and storage. Northern Lights is a partnership between Equinor, Shell and Total.

- Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is important for achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. The submission of the development plan is a necessary step in order to realize full-scale CO₂-capture and storage in Norway. The Northern Lights project will also be able to offer CO₂ storage from other countries. Northern Lights is an example of the expertise and experience we have built up in the oil and gas industry being used in the development of new technology and new solutions that ensure sustainable use of energy. Hywind Tampen, which was just approved by the authorities, is another such example, says Minister Tina Bru.

The companies behind Northern Lights estimate that the first part of the project has an investment cost of about NOK 6.9 billion.

The development plan is historical: It is the first development plan according to the Norwegian storage regulations.

If the Norwegian state makes an investment decision for the demonstration project, Northern Lights will receive CO₂ on ships at an onshore reception facility in Øygarden municipality. There, CO₂ must be stored intermittently before being pumped through a pipeline to an injection well on the seabed. From the well, CO₂ will be permanently stored in the Johansen- and Cook-formations about 2660 m below the sea level in the North Sea.

Investment decision scheduled this year

The Ministry will now assess the development plan in collaboration with the relevant ministries and underlying agencies. The assessment will form part of the decision-making basis for the Norwegian demonstration project for full-scale CO₂ capture and storage. This includes, in addition to transport and storage, CO₂-capture at Fortum Oslo Varme's waste incineration plant at Klemetsrud and/or from Norcem's cement factory in Brevik.

The government's investment decision is scheduled this year. The Ministry will then present cost estimates for the entire CO_2-capture and storage project.

- The assessment of the development plan will form one part of the basis for the government when it considers the investment in the Norwegian demonstration project for full-scale CO₂-capture and storage. This is scheduled in connection with the Government's state budget for 2021, says Bru.

Earlier this year, the companies completed the drilling of a well confirming that the planned storage site has the properties required for permanent CO₂ storage. The plan is to use the same well for CO₂ injection.

Background:

The regulations for CO₂ storage on the Norwegian continental shelf came into force in December 2014. The first permit for the injection and storage of CO₂ on the Norwegian continental shelf according to the storage regulations, utilization permit 001, was granted Equinor by the King in council on January 11, 2019. The permit is located southwest of the Troll field and east of the Oseberg field in the northern part of the North Sea.

The Northern Lights partnership consists of Equinor, Norske Shell and Total E&P Norway. A stepwise development of the project is planned, where phase one is planned with a capacity to store 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ per year. The plan is to complete the facility around the turn of the year 2023/2024, and will have a planned operating period of 25 years. The storage capacity for phase one is just under 40 million tonnes of CO2.

A possible phase two of the development will increase capacity in the form of more storage tanks, increased pumping capacity, new quay plant and more injection wells. The pipeline can handle increased capacity at the receiving plant as it is planned with a capacity of about five million tonnes of CO₂ per year from the start. If phase two is realised, the project will depend, among other things, on contractual access to CO₂ for geological storage and sufficient storage capacity in the reservoir. Experience with operating the plant in phase one will be crucial to know how much CO₂ can be stored in the reservoir.