Subsea7 and Aker Solutions tasked with work for Northern Lights Phase 2

Norway’s state-owned Equinor, acting as the technical service provider (TSP) for the project, has awarded Subsea7 and Aker Solutions with contracts for the second phase of the Northern Lights CO2 transport and storage development in Norway, after the final investment decision (FID) was announced last week.

Subsea7’s contract is described as sizeable and will see the company deliver engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of a five-kilometer CO2 pipeline, as well as installation of integrated satellite structures, umbilicals, tie-in and pre-commissioning activities.

Project management and engineering will start immediately at the Subsea7 office in Stavanger, Norway, while the fabrication of the pipeline will take place at the company’s spoolbase at Vigra. Offshore operations are set for 2026 and 2027.

Erik Femsteinevik, Vice President for Subsea7 Norway, said: “We are excited to continue our collaboration with Equinor TSP and the Northern Lights’ owners Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies on phase 2 of this ambitious and pioneering project. We look forward to working together to increase the development’s carbon storage capacity to a minimum of five million tonnes per year, and to support the continued development of a new value chain for Norway and Europe.”

Subsea7 said that by sizeable it is implied that the contract is worth between $50 million and $150 million.

In a separate statement, Aker Solutions said that its scope included the EPC of the onshore facilities, and work will be performed at locations at Fornebu and Stord, Norway, and Mumbai, India.

The award, deemed significant, meaning it is worth between NOK 1.5 billion and NOK 2.5 billion (around $142.7 million and $237.8 million), follows Aker Solutions’ delivery of the first phase of this project in 2024.

Work will start in the second quarter of 2025 and is expected to be completed in 2028.

“This contract is significant for Aker Solutions and aligns well with our strategy and ability to deliver standardized solutions for projects in the CCUS value chain. This is the fourth project with CO2 storage solutions which we are executing, and this journey has enabled us to continuously reduce costs. Northern Lights strengthens Norway’s position as a leader in CCS projects globally, and we are proud to be part of this important initiative,” said Henrik Inadomi, Executive Vice President for New Energies at Aker Solutions.

The first phase of Northern Lights is part of the Longship full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, initiated by the Norwegian government and designed to demonstrate large-scale CO2 capture, transport, and storage. Northern Lights focuses on the transport and storage aspects.

Captured and liquefied CO2 from customers’ sites is transported by ship to the onshore receiving terminal at Øygarden, then further transported via pipeline to a storage in a reservoir 2,600 meters under the North Sea seabed.

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.

As the first phase is completed, fully booked and ready to receive CO2 from industrial emitters, Northern Lights joint venture (JV) partners Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies are proceeding with phase two of the namesake development. The FID for the second phase was announced at the end of March.

This second phase leverages existing onshore and offshore infrastructures in Øygarden, with the expansion including new onshore storage tanks, pumps, a jetty, injection wells and transport vessels, all expected to be completed for a start-up by the second half of 2028.