The Ministry of Energy has  declared two areas in the North Sea for applications related to CO2 injection and storage on the Norwegian continental shelf.

“I am very pleased that several companies want storage areas for commercial storage of CO2 on the Norwegian continental shelf. We have developed a system that provides good access to promising areas. Today’s announcement for applications is another step on the road towards making Norway a central arena for CO2 storage as an important climate measure for Europe”, said Minister of Energy Terje Aasland.

Awards of such areas is a prerequisite for large-scale carbon capture and storage. Several commercial companies have made inquiries to the ministry with desire regarding awards of one or more specific storage areas. These inquiries form the basis for the areas now being announced.

“Succeeding with large-scale CO2 storage is important for the world to reach its climate goals. Such solutions are important to the Norwegian government. That is why we are facilitating commercial CO2 storage on our continental shelf. If we succeed, such activity will have the potential to reduce emissions in Europe, while creating new and valuable jobs in Norway”, said Aasland.

Announcement and possible allocation of area for a storage permit will take place after individual application. The permitting process is initiated by companies by applying for  permits according to the storage regulations, after having established  that they have a sufficiently good basis for applying.

Background                                 

Activities aimed at surveying and exploring for subsea reservoirs for the storage of CO2, as well as exploitation, transport, and storage of CO2 in such reservoirs on the Norwegian continental shelf are subject to the regulations on transportation and storage of CO2 into subsea reservoirs on the continental shelf.

Anyone who is conducting such storage operations needs a permit in accordance with the regulations. In addition, on February 20th, 2020, the Petroleum Safety Authority established regulations on safety and the working environment for the transport and storage of CO2 on the continental shelf (the CO2 safety regulations).

The Norwegian government are facilitating the socio-economically profitable storage of CO2 on the Norwegian continental shelf. Companies that have the necessary expertise and that have specific, industrial plans that entail a need for storage on a commercial basis can apply to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for a licence adapted to the needs of the business. The government will conduct a predictable, efficient, and flexible process to award industrial players access to relevant storage options. Areas that are relevant for awards will be announced, among other things, to ensure competition.

In line with the regulations on transportation and storage of CO2 into subsea reservoirs on the continental shelf, the ministry normally expects to award an exploration licence prior to awarding an exploitation licence in a relevant area. Exploration licences can be awarded to one or more competent companies. If a licence is awarded to several companies, the ministry will, generally, appoint one of the companies as operator.

The award of exploration licences will normally be done with a work program including one binding phase and subsequent conditional phases with decision points for the continuation or relinquishment. Relinquishing allows other stakeholders with storage needs to apply for awards of the area. The work program will normally end with a demand that the companies make an investment decision on the realization of CO2 a storage, and that they then submit a plan for development and operation (PUD) for the storage location or relinquish of the area.