Baker Hughes, Horisont team up for Barents Sea carbon capture project

Oilfield services major Baker Hughes and carbontech startup Horisont Energi have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the Polaris carbon storage project in the Barents Sea, off the northern coast of Norway.

Under the agreement, the two companies will explore the development and integration of technologies to minimize the carbon footprint, cost and delivery time of carbon capture, transport, and storage (CCTS).

Horisont Energi’s Polaris offshore carbon storage facility is part of its “Barents Blue” project, which is the first global and full-scale carbon neutral “blue” ammonia production plant.

The Polaris project is expected to have a total carbon storage capacity of over 100 million tons, which is equivalent to twice Norway’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Currently, in the concept phase, the facility is expected to enter the construction phase in the second half of 2022. As part of its overall goals, Polaris aims to have the lowest carbon storage cost globally, paving the way for profitable CCTS facilities that are not reliant on government support schemes. 

Bjørgulf Haukelidsæter Eidesen, CEO of Horisont Energi, said: “The global carbon technology market is emerging for carbon storage and utilization. With Baker Hughes, we will scale solutions across the carbon value chain to accelerate the decarbonization of the energy industry. Our complementary competencies allow for a strategic partnership for scalable, energy-efficient and flexible technology solutions”.

Uwem Ukpong, executive vice president of regions, alliances, and enterprise sales at Baker Hughes, added: “Baker Hughes has a broad and established portfolio of CCTS technology and proven expertise in executing some of the North Sea’s most complex offshore projects. We are proud to be partnering with Horisont Energi for new energy frontiers, taking the Polaris carbon storage project from concept to reality”.

In addition to collaborating for the Polaris offshore carbon storage facility, Baker Hughes and Horisont Energi will also work together to develop processes and technologies across the carbon capture value chain.

This includes the reduction of carbon footprint in the well construction and subsea segments, high-efficiency turbomachinery technology including compressors and turbines for syngas, steam, CO2 and air, as well as low- to zero-emissions power and heat generation for clean ammonia plants.

The duo will also conduct the development of pre-front-end engineering and design (FEED) and FEED activities to prepare for project execution of offshore carbon storage assets and create a life-of-field service model for the life cycle of carbon storage projects, including site selection, drilling, and power to subsea infrastructure.