ORLEN and Equinor to jointly explore carbon capture and storage opportunities

Polish multi-utility company ORLEN and Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor have signed a collaboration agreement to explore opportunities for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in Poland.

The scope of the agreement covers the transport and storage of CO2 in Poland, with the partners set to jointly identify potential CO2 storage sites, considering both land-based locations and areas within the Polish section of the Baltic Sea.

The next step includes assessing the feasibility of joint projects based on the identified storage locations.

As part of its new strategy, ORLEN has committed to achieving an annual carbon capture, transport, and storage capacity of 4 million tonnes by 2035, a portion of which would be allocated to advancing the ORLEN Group’s net zero goal, mainly for its petrochemical and refining assets, while the remainder would be offered as a service to other firms.

“Our collaboration with Equinor marks a major milestone in advancing the ORLEN Group’s strategic goals. We are joining forces with an experienced and driven partner to develop unique know-how in the CCS technology,” said Wiesław Prugar, Member of the ORLEN Management Board, Upstream.

“Building on this knowledge, we aim to establish a new, forward-looking business area that will boost our decarbonisation potential. At the same time, the initiative has the potential to serve as a catalyst giving rise to an entire ecosystem of businesses that could grow, create value, and generate new jobs. This is how we fulfil our role as the energy transition leader.”

Equinor, which began storing CO2 in the offshore Sleipner field back in 1996, is involved in several large-scale CCS initiatives across North-West Europe and the U.S., including an interest in Northern Lights, the first cross-border CCS initiative that provides CO2 storage as a service.

In September 2024, Northern lights stood ready to receive CO2, and the first customer is expected to deliver CO2 mid-2025. The project’s phase 1 offers an injection capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

The Norwegian company also holds several storage licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), Denmark, UK, and the U.S. Last year, together with partners TotalEnergies and BP, it made the final investment decision (FID) on Northern Endurance Partnership, a CO2 transport and storage solution, and Net Zero Teesside, a gas fired power plant with post-combustion carbon capture.

“Building on an already well-established energy partnership, this agreement marks another step in our collaboration with Orlen. Both companies are committed to delivering energy security while progressing low carbon solutions and development of renewable energy. We look forward to working together with Orlen to identify potential CO2 storage opportunities in Poland where the two companies could complement each other’s strengths,” said Irene Rummelhoff, EVP Marketing, Midstream and Processing at Equinor.