The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) has recommended the Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities to award the first three exclusive licenses for exploration of full-scale CO2 storage in the Danish North Sea to TotalEnergies and a consortium consisting of INEOS E&P and Wintershall DEA.
The licenses are an important step towards realizing Denmark’s CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) strategy and will kick start the plan for the development of full-scale CO2 storage in Denmark, according to a news release.
The Danish Energy Agency received two applications in the first round of licenses for CO2 storage in the Danish North Sea. The two applications came from TotalEnergies EP Danmark A/S and a consortium consisting of INEOS E&P and Wintershall Dea International. The two applications met the requirements, and two licenses were granted to TotalEnergies and one to the INEOS & Wintershall consortium
Nordsøfonden will represent the interest of the state and participate with a share of 20% in each of the coming new licenses.
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, thus enabling the opportunity for Denmark to serve as a commercial hub for CO2 storage from all of Europe.
TotalEnergies EP Danmark A/S is awarded two licenses and the partnership between INEOS E&P and Wintershall Dea International is awarded one license. The licenses cover areas in depleted oil and gas fields and previously unexplored saline aquifers. All the licenses contain the necessary geological structures that are suited to serve as permanent CO2 storage locations in the future. The timing and design of the final CO2 storage facilities will depend on the upcoming exploration and research work.
The specific storage projects must be approved by the DEA before establishment. The captured CO2 will likely be transported either via specially designed ships or through existing or new pipeline infrastructure. Finally, the CO2 will be stored in depleted oil and gas fields or saline aquifers 1-2 km below the seabed, by pumping the CO2 into small pockets in sandstone or limestone layers and thus buried under thick layers of impermeable claystone.
