The Norwegian government and Statoil have undertaken an agreement to establish the world's largest full-scale CO2 capture and storage (CCS) project in conjunction with the projected combined heat and power plant at Mongstad. The CCS project is to be fully operational by the end of 2014. The first stage of the CCS project will be in place at the start-up of the proposed cogeneration facility in 2010.

"With this project we are writing industrial and environmental history", says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. "We are going to build the world's largest carbon capture facility in connection with the combined heat and power plant at Mongstad. At the same time we will secure and increase the power production for the Norwegian market."

"The cogeneration plant at Mongstad is a project that is vital to our energy policy", Minister of Petroleum and Energy Odd Roger Enoksen says. "It will improve the power situation in the Bergen area. The power may also supply Troll and other North Sea fields with electricity.”

In connection with the agreement, the Ministry of the Environment grants Statoil the emission permit for CO2.

Describing negotiations between the government and Statoil as "challenging", the Minister of the Environment Helen Bjørnøy says: "We are now presenting an emission permit that secures a full scale CO2 capture and storage of the cogeneration plant at Mongstad. With the cooperation we are entering, Norway can become a pioneer in developing CO2 technology."

Prime Minister Stoltenberg sees the project as an important element in Norway's industrial policy. "We are developing a ground-breaking new technology which can become an export item and a guarantee for a future sector in Norway", he says.

CO2 capture in parallel with the development of the power plant
The emission permit from the Ministry of the Environment stipulates that development of a full-scale CCS power plant must proceed in parallel with the construction of the cogeneration plant. Project development for phase 1 of the carbon capture facility will begin at once. In order to reduce technical and financial risk the project will progress in two stages. The first stage, which will be in place when the cogeneration plant starts operation in 2010, will capture at least 100,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The second stage, full-scale carbon capture, will be in place by the end of 2014.

Both parties committed to the project for environment-friendly power
The emission permit and the agreement between the Government and Statoil commit both parties both economically and judicially through several stages.

A technology company is to be set up at Mongstad. The government will invite interested parties to consider part ownership, while Statoil will assume 20 per cent ownership from the start. The government will make a substantial investment. The technology company will be responsible for various aspects of the further development of the carbon capture technology.

The Government will present the project to Parliament.

The Mongstad project will be the world’s largest of its kind. By this we move from the research/small scale phase to actual construction of a full scale CO2 capture facility. Several technological solutions will be tested in parallel in the first phase of the project. This will be of great interest to any other future gas-fired power plants. This arrangement will ensure that technological developments in Norway will have a broad international relevance and will not be project-specific to Norway.

Energy efficiency
The heat and some of the electricity generated will be used in the refinery.

Surplus electricity will be sold to the Troll A petroleum field. Other offshore installations in the North Sea could also benefit from the electricity from Mongstad. Electricity production from the plant will be 2.3 TWh and heat production will be 2,8 TWh per year. The cogeneration plant will operate at a very high energy efficiency, in the longer term up to 80 per cent. By comparison, traditional gas -fired power plants have an energy efficiency of approx. 58-59 per cent.

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