Page 4 - EurOil Week 50 2020

EurOil COMMENTARY EurOil

Norway releases funds for

$2.9bn CCS venture

Longship strives to capture and store the emissions from industries not only

in Norway but in other European countries

NORWAY NORWEGIAN lawmakers have signed off on and the first of its kind offering a solution to cut
support for a $2.9bn carbon capture and storage emissions from industrial sources in Norway
WHAT: (CCS) project which they describe as the coun- and Europe.”
Norway has unlocked try’s biggest ever climate initiative. “We are ready to start realising this project
initial funds for the Norway’s parliament (Storting) on Decem- that will be an important part of the climate
$2.9bn Longship project. ber 14 approved the energy ministry’s budget solution,” he said.
for 2021, including initial funding for Longship,
WHY: which aims to capture and store emissions from Pioneering project
Development approval Norwegian industry in offshore structures. The The North Sea has become a hotbed for CCS
is expected after a ministry has also been given permission to enter development, as countries in the region look to
parliamentary debate in agreements with Equinor and its partners in depleted oil and gas reservoirs and other subsea
early 2021. Northern Lights, which represents Longship’s structures as places to store their unwanted CO2
offshore transport and storage portion. emissions.
WHAT NEXT: Parliament will discuss Longship again in Norway already has some experience in CCS
Higher carbon taxes early 2021 and a plan for its development will technology, with Equinor operating the conti-
are needed to spur the be formally approved once members adopt the nent’s only two working large-scale projects, sit-
deployment of CCS on project’s white paper. uated at the offshore Sleipner and Snohvit fields.
mass. “Longship is the largest climate project in the The pair store up to 1.5mn tonnes per year (tpy)
Norwegian industry and will contribute substan- of CO2 that has been produced along with the
tially to the development of CCS as an efficient fields’ gas supply.
mitigation measure,” Norwegian Energy Min- However, Norway is yet to tackle emissions
ister Tina Bru commented. “Working together from industry using CCS and this is where Long-
with the industry, the step-by-step approach has ship comes in. The project will involve the cap-
confirmed that the project is feasible.” ture of CO2 from a cement factory in Brevik and
Equinor CEO Anders Opedal added that a waste-to-energy power plant in Oslo. The CO2
Northern Lights was “a true pioneering project will then be compressed and loaded onto ships

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 50 17•December•2020