Norway approves FID in Northern Lights CCS project

Norway has approved final investment decision (FID) for the Northern Lights CO₂ carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. CO₂ will be stored in the Northern North Sea, 2,600 m below the seabed. Norway’s FID will allow Total SE, Equinor, and Royal Dutch Shell, the partners in this project, to begin construction of Northern Lights.

Phase 1 of Northern Lights will move 1.5-million tonnes/year of CO₂ from industrial capture sites to an intermediate terminal in Øygarden, Norway, and eventual shipment to the permanent North Sea storage site. The project, to be completed mid-2024, will be open to third parties and be Europe’s first cross-border, open-source CCS network. 

Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and chief executive officer of Total, said “CCS is key to achieving carbon neutrality in Europe and is fully part of our Climate Ambition to get to net zero emissions by 2050”.

The three companies earlier this year submitted a plan for development and operation of Northern Lights, pending Norway’s approval (OGJ Online, May 15, 2020). They are now negotiating a joint venture to run the project. Northern Lights is part of a larger Norwegian CCS project, Longship.