Statoil considering CO2 storage in Norwegian continental shelf
Statoil is evaluating the development of a carbon dioxide (CO2) storage project on the Norwegian continental shelf. Proposed by Norwegian state enterprise Gassnova, the storage project will capture CO2 from three industrial facilities in Eastern Norway and transport it to a receiving plant on Norway's western coast. From there, the carbon will be sent through pipelines to be permanently stored in reservoirs under the sea bed. The project will be the world's first storage site to receive CO2 from several industrial sources.

The results of studies performed in 2016 show that it is technically feasible to realise a carbon capture and storage chain in Norway. The next phase of the project, which Statoil has been assigned to perform, will involve concept and pre-engineering studies in order to evaluate the possibilities in more detail, and to get accurate cost estimates towards a possible investment decision. An investment decision for project implementation is expected to be made by the Norwegian Parliament in 2019.

The technologies for carbon capture and storage in geological formations are known and established. There are 21 full-scale carbon capture and storage projects worldwide in the development or operations phase. Statoil’s CCS projects at Sleipner and Snøhvit are among these, and have given Statoil more than 20 years of operational carbon storage experience.

“The next big tasks are developing technology, regulations and general commercial conditions that may stimulate an extensive roll-out of CCS,” says Rummelhoff.

The Norwegian CCS project will be a collaboration project between onshore industry, government authorities and companies with offshore expertise, such as Statoil.

“Collaboration and sharing of knowledge are essential to accelerating the development of a market for carbon capture and storage. It is therefore important that we collaborate with other industrial players that can and will help implement projects and qualify CCS as an important climate tool,” says Rummelhoff.