Total: Go-ahead From the Norwegian Authorities for the Northern Lights CO2 Sequestration Project
December 15 2020 - 6:15AM
Business Wire
Regulatory News:
Total (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT):
Following a vote in the Norwegian parliament, the Government of
the Kingdom of Norway announced its approval of the final
investment decision for the Northern Lights project, enabling the
shipping, reception and sequestration of CO2 in geological strata
in the Northern North Sea, approximately 2,600 meters below the
seabed.
This approval demonstrates the Norwegian government's strong
support for the development of a Carbon Capture and Sequestration
(CCS) value chain, which is essential if Europe is to achieve its
carbon neutrality targets. With mergers clearances process
underway, it will enable Total, Equinor, and Shell, the partners in
this project, to launch the construction phase of Northern
Lights.
“The development of the carbon capture and sequestration value
chain is essential to decarbonize Europe's industries. We are a
long-standing partner of Norway, a pioneer country which has more
than 20 years of experience in CCS, and today we thank its
government for making possible the final investment decision to
develop Northern Lights,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and
CEO of Total. “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”.
“Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is important to achieve the
goals of the Paris Agreement. "Longship" is the largest climate
project ever in the Norwegian industry and will contribute
substantially to the development of CCS as an efficient mitigation
measure. Working together with the industry, the step-by-step
approach has confirmed that the project is feasible. I want to
thank the Northern Lights partners Equinor, Shell and Total - and I
am looking forward to our continued cooperation,” says Minister
of Petroleum and Energy, Tina Bru.
“Northern Lights is a true pioneering project and the first of
its kind offering a solution to cut emissions from industrial
sources in Norway and Europe. With all necessary approvals in
place, we are ready to start construction of what will be an
important part of the climate solution. I want to thank the
Norwegian government and for the broad political support in making
this a reality. I am certain that we together with our partners and
suppliers will make this project a success,” says Equinor CEO
Anders Opedal.
“The Norwegian government’s initiative and support for what will
be the world’s first open source CO2, transport and storage project
shows real vision and commitment. Northern Lights is designed to
provide a service to industrial emitters who can now take action on
emissions that can’t be avoided. This is key to bringing real
progress towards tackling climate change. Shell will play our part
in making this a reality,” says Shell CEO Ben van
Beurden.
The Northern Lights Project
Equinor, Shell and Total made a conditional investment decision
on the Northern Lights CO2 transport and storage project in May
2020. The project partners are now in the process of establishing a
Joint Venture1, which will be responsible for all project
activities, including business development.
The Northern Lights project includes the development and
operation of CO2 transport and storage facilities, open to third
parties. It will be the first ever cross-border, open-source CO2
transport and storage infrastructure network and offers European
industrial emitters the opportunity to store their CO2 safely and
permanently underground. Phase one of the project will be completed
in 2024 with a capacity of up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per
year.
Facts and figures
- The Northern Lights project is part of the Norwegian full-scale
carbon capture and storage (CCS) project “Langskip (Longship),”
supported by the Norwegian government. The project will initially
include capture of CO2 from Norwegian industrial capture sources.
The Northern Lights project comprises transportation, receipt and
permanent storage of CO2 in a reservoir in the northern North
Sea.
- A white paper concerning Longship will be debated in January
and, then, the Plan for Development and Operation will be finally
approved.
- Initially, Northern Lights includes capacity to transport,
inject and store up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Once the
CO2 is captured onshore, it will be transported by newly designed
ships, injected and permanently stored 2,600 meters below the
seabed of the North Sea.
- The facilities are scheduled to be operational in 2024.
- The CO2 receiving terminal will be located at the premises of
Naturgassparken industrial area in the municipality of Øygarden in
Western Norway.
- Exploitation license EL001 "Aurora" was awarded in January
2019.
- In March 2020, the Eos confirmation well was successfully
drilled and completed, confirming the reservoir characteristics and
storage capacity.
- Plans exist to increase the capacity to 5 million tons per year
through additional phases of development and an increasing customer
base.
About Total
Total is a broad energy company that produces and markets fuels,
natural gas and electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to
better energy that is more affordable, more reliable, cleaner and
accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130
countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy
major.
* * * * *
Cautionary Note This press release, from which no legal
consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The
entities in which TOTAL SE directly or indirectly owns investments
are separate legal entities. TOTAL SE has no liability for their
acts or omissions. In this document, the terms “Total”, “Total
Group” and Group are sometimes used for convenience. Likewise, the
words “we”, “us” and “our” may also be used to refer to
subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. This
document may contain forward-looking information and statements
that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in
a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may
prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of
risk factors. Neither TOTAL SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes
any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information
or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
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1 Subject to merger clearance
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