Horisont Energi and Neptune Energy eye new CO2 storage license

Horisont Energi and Neptune Energy are set to apply for the license to operate an area for CO2 storage in the North Sea that Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy announced on 2 November.

The parties plan to apply together, with Neptune Energy having the operatorship for the development phase and Horisont Energi taking over as an operator when the Errai carbon capture and storage (CCS) project is in operation in 2025.

“This is an exciting and decisive step moving forward on the development of the Errai project. We have an effective team who put in a lot of effort to accommodate the demand for CO2 storage from industrial customers in Europe and Norway,” said Bjørgulf Haukelidsæter Eidesen, CEO of Horisont Energi.

“We are already in dialogue with suppliers for the offshore reservoir, shipping, and the onshore CO2 terminal. It is a pleasure to observe the enthusiasm among different suppliers in the market.”

According to Horisont Energi, Errai can store 4-8 million tonnes of CO2 annually, with the potential to store more in later phases. The project includes an onshore terminal for intermediate CO2 storage, with the intention to permanently store the CO2 in an offshore reservoir.

The onshore terminal would be capable of receiving CO2 from European and domestic customers, including volumes from a planned development of a CO2 terminal in the port of Rotterdam.

Locations for the onshore CO2 terminal in the southern part of Norway are being evaluated.

“We have a dedicated team with a common goal to be an early ‘re-mover’ in the carbon capture and storage (CCS) business. Time is of essence to reach Net Zero by 2050. We believe that CCS is an important new industry that will contribute to remove large volumes of CO2 from the atmosphere,” Horisont Energi said.

So far, four storage permits have been awarded on the Norwegian continental shelf, three in the North Sea and one in the Barents Sea.

Permit EL 001 in the North Sea was awarded to Northern Lights in 2019 and, this April, two more permits were allocated, one in the North Sea to Equinor and one in the Barents Sea to a group consisting of Equinor, Horisont Energi, and Vår Energi.

Furthermore, Wintershall Dea Norge and CapeOmega were selected for an exploration permit for CO2 storage in the North Sea in October.

Check out more carbon capture & storage news on the link HERE.