Project Greensand gets DNV’s safety approval

Classification society DNV has verified the safety of all aspects of Project Greensand’s CO2 storage in the North Sea.

Project Greensand includes capturing CO2 at an INEOS Oxide site in Zwijndrecht, Belgium, which is transported cross-border and stored in the Nini field in the Danish North Sea. The CO2 injected is stored at a depth of about 1,800 meters below the seabed.

The project is said to be the first in the world to demonstrate that CO2 can be transported across national borders and stored offshore to mitigate climate change.

This safety verification covers everything from the fabrication by the individual subcontractors to the offshore installation.

“Our team of experts have worked closely with the Greensand consortium and followed the development of the project over the last few years,” said Mick Cramer Jakobsen, Regional Head of Customer Relations for DNV and project director for the safety verification. 

“Our safety verification of Project Greensand’s entire pilot phase clearly shows that the project is fit for purpose, safe and compliant with all relevant Danish and international regulations and the highest standards. Naturally, it will be advantageous to have the safety verification already in place before the next phase of Project Greensand commences.”

DNV said its work had involved extensive analyses of plans, the suitability of the underground sites, and the practicability of the storage and designs, along with the company’s physical presence during a stress test of the individual sub-elements and approval of the connection and installation of offshore systems throughout the value chain and across national borders.

On 8 March, HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark officially opened the underground storage of CO2 in Denmark. Later in the day, representatives from DNV presented the Statement of Conformity to Project Greensand.

The consortium behind Project Greensand consists of 23 companies, universities and research institutions, including INEOS and Wintershall Dea.

In the short run, Project Greensand can store up to 1,5 million tonnes of CO2 per year in 2025/2026. In the final expansion phase, scheduled to begin in 2030, the project aims to store up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year in the area, 40 per cent of Denmark’s total emission reduction target.

This February, INEOS and Wintershall Dea received the first full-scale CO2 storage permit for the Danish North Sea.

The FID for the full-scale project will commence after proof of concept, planned in the second half of 2023, and will have an estimated delivery duration of around two years after which carbon storage could be operational from around 2025.

To follow all the developments of Project Greensand, click HERE.