Norway has given final approval to the development plan for Northern Lights, which is the storage part of the Longship carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.
Norway has given final approval to the development plan for Northern Lights, which is the storage part of the Longship carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.
Final state support agreements have been signed to approve the project that will receive captured CO2 transported by ship to Øygarden municipality on the western coast of Norway. Here, the gas will be temporarily stored before it is sent through a pipeline to the storage site on the continental shelf. At the storage site CO2 will be pumped down to a sealed reservoir for permanent storage 2600 m below the seabed in the northern part of the North Sea, southwest of the Troll field and east of the Oseberg field.
Total investment under the development plan is estimated at six billion kroner ($710 million), and annual operating costs at around 370 million kroner ($44 million). The facility will have capacity to store 1.5 million tonnes CO2 annually, and a planned operation period of 25 years.
Northern Lights will be built and operated by the company Northern Lights JV, comprising Equinor, Shell and Total. Having captured CO2 for the Longship project, Northern Lights plans to sell additional capacity. The approved development plan includes an injection well, but an extra injection well and a future phase two for the storage project still require government approval.
Northern Lights is in dialogue with several European entities regarding possible use of the storage, said Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. ‘The outlook is good. Northern Lights has already signed MoUs with eight companies, and I believe more will want to connect to the storage now that the project has been approved,’ said petroleum and energy minister Tina Bru.
‘We have made a business model where the companies must succeed commercially to recover their shares of the investments,’ she added.
Construction work is proceeding on the CO2 terminal in Øygarden.
Meanwhile, Norway and the EU have agreed to strengthen cooperation on promoting energy transition. The agreement will cover carbon taxes and the circular economy, with a focus on battery technology, electrification of transport, green shipping and carbon capture and storage (CSS) as well as the use of hydrogen as a potential long-term solution for decarbonizing the energy sector.
‘Norway is highly relevant as a partner for the EU and has research institutions, technology, a business sector and expertise that will play an important part in developing a climate-neutral Europe,’ said minister of foreign affairs, Ine Eriksen Søreide.
