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Released February 22, 2023 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Denmark has awarded its first licenses for storing carbon dioxide (CO2) underneath the North Sea as the country accelerates efforts to decarbonise its industrial sector.
The Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Supply has granted three licenses--two to TotalEnergies EP Danmark, part of French major TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) (Courbevoie, France), and one to a consortium of INEOS E&P (London, England) and Wintershall (Ludwigshafen, Germany). The licenses cover areas in depleted oil and gas fields and previously unexplored saline aquifers. All of the licenses contain the necessary geological structures that are suited to serve as permanent CO2 storage locations in the future, according to the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) which evaluated the applications.
"Granting the first exclusive permits for full-scale CO2 storage in the North Sea is an important step into the future," said DEA Director Kristoffer Böttzauw. "CO2 capture and storage is an important element in the green transition. Today's licenses are the result of effective implementation of the first Danish political agreements on CCS."
Last month, Industrial Info reported that the European Commission (EC) had greenlit the Danish government's 1.1 billion-euro (US$1.2 billion) funding scheme for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. The scheme, open to all industrial sectors, will offer 20-year contracts with the goal of capturing and storing an annual minimum of 0.4 million tonnes of CO2 from 2026--a total of 8 million tonnes over the 20-year period. The maximum sum of aid provided can be up to 55 million euro (US$59.5 million) per annum. For additional information, see January 24, 2023, article-Green Light for Denmark's $1.2 Billion Carbon Capture Scheme.
Arnaud Le Foll, a senior vice president new business at TotalEnergies, said: "With its large geological storage potential and its proximity to major industrial emitters in Central Europe, Denmark can play a leading role in carbon capture and storage on the continent. With the Northern Lights project under construction in Norway and projects under development in the Netherlands and the U.K., the North Sea area will be the main contributor to our objective of 10 million tonnes per year (Mt/y) of CO2 storage by 2030 and to the decarbonization of the European economy."
The captured CO2 will likely be transported either via specially designed ships or through existing or new pipeline infrastructure before being stored in depleted oil and gas fields or saline aquifers 1-2 kilometers (km) below the seabed. The CO2 will be pumped into small pockets in sandstone or limestone layers, which in turn are buried under thick layers of impermeable claystone. Denmark also sees a major commercial opportunity in becoming a leading destination for CO2 captured throughout Europe. The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has previously demonstrated that the Danish subsurface is particularly suitable for CO2 storage, both offshore and onshore. GEUS has estimated that the Danish subsurface theoretically can store up to 22 billion tons of CO2. This is equivalent to between 500 and 1,000 years of total Danish emissions at current levels.
The licensed areas sit between some leading planned CO2 capture projects, including Europe's first ever trial of CCS in the North Sea--Project Greensand--jointly led by INEOS Group and Wintershall. This will allow for CO2, captured by INEOS from its Zwijndrecht refinery in Belgium, to be shipped via the port of Antwerp to INEOS' Nini West oil platform 200 kilometers (km) off the west coast of Denmark, where it will be injected as a liquid into the former oil field, 1.8-km below the seabed surface. Greensand involves a consortium of 23 specialized companies, research centers, institutions and logistics partners and has the goal of storing 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2025 and up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. For additional information, see October 18, 2022, article-Europe's First North Sea Carbon Storage Project Advances.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Supply has granted three licenses--two to TotalEnergies EP Danmark, part of French major TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) (Courbevoie, France), and one to a consortium of INEOS E&P (London, England) and Wintershall (Ludwigshafen, Germany). The licenses cover areas in depleted oil and gas fields and previously unexplored saline aquifers. All of the licenses contain the necessary geological structures that are suited to serve as permanent CO2 storage locations in the future, according to the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) which evaluated the applications.
"Granting the first exclusive permits for full-scale CO2 storage in the North Sea is an important step into the future," said DEA Director Kristoffer Böttzauw. "CO2 capture and storage is an important element in the green transition. Today's licenses are the result of effective implementation of the first Danish political agreements on CCS."
Last month, Industrial Info reported that the European Commission (EC) had greenlit the Danish government's 1.1 billion-euro (US$1.2 billion) funding scheme for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. The scheme, open to all industrial sectors, will offer 20-year contracts with the goal of capturing and storing an annual minimum of 0.4 million tonnes of CO2 from 2026--a total of 8 million tonnes over the 20-year period. The maximum sum of aid provided can be up to 55 million euro (US$59.5 million) per annum. For additional information, see January 24, 2023, article-Green Light for Denmark's $1.2 Billion Carbon Capture Scheme.
Arnaud Le Foll, a senior vice president new business at TotalEnergies, said: "With its large geological storage potential and its proximity to major industrial emitters in Central Europe, Denmark can play a leading role in carbon capture and storage on the continent. With the Northern Lights project under construction in Norway and projects under development in the Netherlands and the U.K., the North Sea area will be the main contributor to our objective of 10 million tonnes per year (Mt/y) of CO2 storage by 2030 and to the decarbonization of the European economy."
The captured CO2 will likely be transported either via specially designed ships or through existing or new pipeline infrastructure before being stored in depleted oil and gas fields or saline aquifers 1-2 kilometers (km) below the seabed. The CO2 will be pumped into small pockets in sandstone or limestone layers, which in turn are buried under thick layers of impermeable claystone. Denmark also sees a major commercial opportunity in becoming a leading destination for CO2 captured throughout Europe. The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has previously demonstrated that the Danish subsurface is particularly suitable for CO2 storage, both offshore and onshore. GEUS has estimated that the Danish subsurface theoretically can store up to 22 billion tons of CO2. This is equivalent to between 500 and 1,000 years of total Danish emissions at current levels.
The licensed areas sit between some leading planned CO2 capture projects, including Europe's first ever trial of CCS in the North Sea--Project Greensand--jointly led by INEOS Group and Wintershall. This will allow for CO2, captured by INEOS from its Zwijndrecht refinery in Belgium, to be shipped via the port of Antwerp to INEOS' Nini West oil platform 200 kilometers (km) off the west coast of Denmark, where it will be injected as a liquid into the former oil field, 1.8-km below the seabed surface. Greensand involves a consortium of 23 specialized companies, research centers, institutions and logistics partners and has the goal of storing 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2025 and up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. For additional information, see October 18, 2022, article-Europe's First North Sea Carbon Storage Project Advances.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
