Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies open Norwegian CO2 storage facility

Shell, Equinor and TotalEnergies said on Thursday their carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage project on Norway's west coast is now completed and ready to receive CO₂, with its first deliveries expected next year.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has long been highlighted as a way to reduce CO₂ emissions but there are few commercial projects in existence, with Norway in 2020 launching the Longship project, which includes the Northern Lights site.

"Today we achieved an important milestone on our journey to demonstrate CCS as a viable option to help achieve climate goals," Tim Heijn, managing director of the joint venture said at the unveiling of the facility.

The partners look forward to receiving the first volumes in 2025, said Arnaud Le Foll, a senior vice-president at TotalEnergies.

The site consists of 12 metal tanks onshore, capable of temporarily storing a 7,500-m³ cargo from one of the custom-made ships commissioned to deliver liquefied CO₂.

This is then sent via a 110-km pipeline for permanent storage in a rock formation 2,600 meters below sea level.

Northern Lights' first phase can inject 37.5 metric MMtpy of CO₂ over a 25-yr period, or 1.5 MMtpy. A second phase targets an additional 3.5 MMtpy.

The first delivery will come from a capture facility at the Brevik cement plant in southern Norway owned by Heidelberg Materials, which is also part of the Longship project.

The German group told Reuters it plans to complete the facility by year-end, followed by a period of tests, but did not specify a timing for the first shipment.

Northern Lights also has agreements to transport and store CO₂ for fertilizer maker Yara and Denmark's Orsted from 2025 and 2026, respectively, while an Oslo waste plant capture project is on hold over budgeting issues.

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