Northern Lights, NORSAR to monitor North Sea CO2 storage reservoir

Northern Lights JV has signed an agreement with independent research foundation NORSAR to monitor a CO2 storage reservoir in the North Sea, a move expected to enhance commercial opportunities for Northern Lights and Norway.

NORSAR will establish and operate a permanent monitoring station near Bergen with technology that will detect and analyze seismic activity related to CO2 injection in the Aurora reservoir. The data will support Northern Lights in maintaining operational integrity and ensure safe injection and storage.

The solution can also be used by other storage facilities in Norway and exported internationally.

The technology to be used on Holsnøy has been enhanced through a series of research and development projects supported by the Climate Fund and the EU, with Northern Lights’ owners Shell, TotalEnergies, and Equinor partnering with the University of Bergen and Viridien.

“Commercial CO2 storage is a new business area with immense potential for Norway. It is crucial to build trust from day one. This monitoring will also reassure authorities and the public that the storage site maintains its integrity throughout both the injection and long-term storage phases,” said NORSAR CEO Anne Strømmen Lycke.

In practice, the project involves the reuse of investments made by the Norwegian government in the establishment of NORSAR as the National Data Centre responsible for monitoring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The technology, originally developed to detect vibrations in the ground, has been further refined and will now be used to monitor CO2 injections and detect any induced seismic activity.

According to estimates from the Norwegian Shelf Directorate, the potential for storage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) corresponds to 80 billion tonnes of CO2, equivalent to Norwegian emissions for 1,600 years.

“The agreement between NORSAR and Northern Lights provides a cost-effective solution for monitoring CO2 storage with technology developed in Norway, which can be exported to other countries,” said Norway’s Minister of Energy Terje Aasland.

“CO2 management will be an important contribution to achieving the temperature target of the Paris Agreement. The government aims to facilitate commercial CO2 storage on the Norwegian continental shelf. With world-leading Norwegian technology, experience, and storage capabilities, we are at the forefront.”

GEUS in Denmark and KNMI in the Netherlands, both National Data Centers under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, are in the process of being assigned the same task for storage sites in their respective countries.

Northern Lights is the transport and storage component of Norway’s Longship project. The official opening ceremony of the CO2 transport and storage facility in Øygarden, near Bergen, was conducted by the Norwegian Minister of Energy on September 26, 2024, signaling the facility’s readiness to receive and store CO2.

It comprises the development of a receiving terminal, underwater infrastructure (including the pipeline, subs installations, and wells), intermediate storage tanks, and onshore facilities.

A binding commercial agreement was also signed with Yara International to pave the way for the world’s first cross-border transportation and storage of CO2.

The full-scale project includes the capture of CO2 from industrial sources and the shipping of liquid CO2 to the terminal in Øygarden from where the liquified CO2 will be transported by pipeline to the offshore storage location below the seabed in the North Sea, for permanent storage.

Phase 1 with a capacity to inject up to 1.5 million tons of CO2 per year is fully booked, and the joint venture partners plan to increase the transport and storage capacity for the future.

In October 2024, the Norwegian government highlighted its intention to continue investment in the project, proposing an allocation of NOK 2.1 billion ($197.3 million) for this development in the state budget for 2025. A large part of this full-scale CCS project is anticipated to be completed next year.