Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies announce final investment decision on Northern Lights CCS expansion
Published by Alfred Hamer,
Editorial Assistant
Oilfield Technology,
Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies have made a final investment decision (FID) to progress phase two of the Northern Lights development. The decision was made after signing a commercial agreement with Stockholm Exergi to transport and store up to 900 000 tpy of biogenic CO2 for 15 years.
Customer commitment is a decisive part of realising a carbon capture, transportation and storage (CCS) value chain.
“This is a major step in the further development of a large-scale carbon capture, transportation and storage value chain. The support from the Norwegian Government and European Commission has been important contributing factors to successfully completing phase 1 and advancing phase 2. That we are now able to progress the Northern Lights' project second phase on a commercial basis, demonstrates the value of public-private partnerships to reduce risk and attract customers,” says Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor.
The investment by the Northern Lights JV owners Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies is NKr7.5 billion. This includes the award of €131 million (ca NKr1.5 billion) from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding scheme, approved by the European Commission last year.
Phase two of the development will increase the total injection capacity from 1.5 million tpy of CO2 to at least 5 million tpy. The expansion through phase two builds on existing onshore and offshore infrastructure and includes additional onshore storage tanks, a new jetty, and additional injection wells. This development phase is expected to be completed and ready for operation in the 2H28. Equinor will remain the technical service provider (TSP) for phase two, responsible for development, construction and operation on behalf of the partnership.
The first phase of the Northern Lights project aimed to demonstrate feasibility of a new business model, solutions, and operations through collaboration among authorities, customers and project partners. With strong support by the Norwegian government’s Longship initiative, phase one is fully booked. Northern Lights is prepared to receive CO2 from emitters, offering a secure and permanent storage solution for CO2.
The first phase of the Northern Lights project aimed to demonstrate feasibility of a new business model, solutions, and operations through collaboration among authorities, customers and project partners. With strong support by the Norwegian government’s Longship initiative, phase one is fully booked. Northern Lights is prepared to receive CO2 from emitters, offering a secure and permanent storage solution for CO2.
Phase one operations are planned for this summer, with CO2 from Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory in Brevik expected to arrive at the receiving terminal near Kollsnes on Norway’s west coast. Additionally, Northern Lights will store CO2 from the Hafslund Celsio waste-to-energy plant in Oslo, as part of the Longship project.
Equinor is already one of the largest CCS developers worldwide, with ambitions to further mature storage licenses both on the Norwegian continental shelf and globally with expected nominal equity return as previously communicated. Equinor is working on several CCS projects in Europe and the US. These projects require ongoing collaboration between governments, industry, customers and regulators to enable large-scale CCS solutions.
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Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/28032025/equinor-shell-and-totalenergies-announce-final-investment-decision-on-northern-lights-ccs-expansion/
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