Northern European partners hand in application for CO2 storage off Norway

Neptune Energy, Sval Energi and Storegga have submitted an application for a CO2 storage project in the Norwegian North Sea which has the potential to store up to 225 million tonnes of CO2.

The application was submitted to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy following the announcement of a new area in the North Sea for applications related to the injection and storage of CO2 on 11 January.

The Trudvang project envisages the capture of CO2 by multiple industrial emitters in Northern Europe and the UK, the shipping of liquid CO2 from export terminals to an onshore receiving terminal in the south-west of Norway, and then transport via a purpose-built pipeline to the Trudvang location for injection and permanent storage.

“Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a solution that can significantly reduce CO2 emissions. The Trudvang partners have worked jointly since December 2021 to identify, nominate, and apply for this license,” said Truls Olsen-Skåre, Senior Vice President Sustainability & HSEQ at Sval Energi.

“We have undertaken a substantial amount of work already, including subsurface evaluation of the storage complex, and technical and economic assessment of the CCS value chain. This work has shown that Trudvang can be matured into a commercially viable project with safe and efficient carbon storage.”

Trudvang is said to have the capacity to inject about nine million tonnes of CO2 per annum for 25 to 30 years, representing a total storage capacity of at least 225 million tonnes of CO2. According to Sval Energi, dynamic modeling indicates that the total storage capacity could over time be substantially even higher.

The storage license is located to the east of the Sleipner field and about 165 kilometers from the coast. The storage reservoir is at a depth of approximately 850 meters in the Utsira formation.

The partners plan to commence injecting CO2 in 2029.

“The North Sea has great potential as a hub for carbon storage given the availability and proximity of existing infrastructure, depleted reservoirs, and saline aquifers,” said Neptune Energy’s Global Head of Subsurface, New Energy, Pål Haremo.

“Trudvang could be a key contributor to Neptune’s 2030 goal of storing more carbon than is emitted from our operations and from use of the oil and gas products we sell.”

Four permits for CO2 storage have been awarded on the Norwegian continental shelf so far – three in the North Sea and one in the Barents Sea.

In the previous round related to the allocation of licenses for the injection and storage of CO2, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy received applications from six companies. The aim is to allocate the acreage during the first half of 2023.