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compatible with the EU’s commitment to activities that play key roles in contributing days.
climate neutrality by 2050 and reducing to at least one of six defined environmental Namely, a day after the company said it
emissions by 55% by 2030. Moreover, the objectives, starting with climate change had won a deal with BP for a Carbon Capture
IEA net zero by 2050 pathway is clear that mitigation and climate change adaptation, and Storage (“CCS”) 3D seismic acquisition
demand for natural gas will need to shrink by and no significant harm done to the other in the UK, PGS secured a seismic acquisition
8% below 2019 levels by 2030, and by 55% by objectives. contract for CO2 storage offshore Norway.
2050. Existing gas-fired power plants will also The regulation went into effect at the The contract was awarded by Equinor on
have to be phased out by 2035. Put simply, beginning of 2022, following approval in behalf of its Northern Lights joint venture
there is no remaining carbon budget for new December, while the assessment of gas and with Equinor and Shell. The survey is planned
investments in natural gas,” IIGCC CEO nuclear energy as eligible areas for green to start in the second quarter of 2022 and has
Stephanie Pfeifer said in the letter. investment remained ongoing. a duration of approximately one month. PGS
“As the cornerstone of the EU’s sustainable While gas and nuclear energy are often did not share the financial details.
finance agenda, the inclusion of gas would viewed as transition energy sources that will Rune Olav Pedersen, President & CEO
undermine the credibility of the taxonomy as be required to facilitate the shift from fossil- in PGS, said: “Northern Lights is one of
well as the EU’s own commitment to climate based power to a greener energy system, the pioneering CO2 transport and storage
neutrality by 2050. While there is a place for several sustainability-focused groups have companies in Europe and we are proud
gas as a short-term bridge as part of a period warned that their inclusion in the taxonomy to contribute with our technology to their
of transition, it cannot honestly be classified could undermine the classification system’s groundbreaking efforts. We established our
as green.” purpose and open it up to concerns of New Energy business area in early 2021 and
The letter pointed out that while natural greenwashing. made MultiClient data sales during the year
gas may have a role to play as a bridge to Earlier this month, the European for the development of CO2 storage projects.
support the transition to net zero, it does Commission announced that consultations I am very pleased to see that we now are
not meet the prescribed requirements to have begun on the inclusion of gas and taking another step in being awarded this data
be classified as a transitional activity, and nuclear energy as green investment areas acquisition contract for Northern Lights.”
its inclusion in the taxonomy would be under the EU Taxonomy classification system. Pedersen said Tuesday, in relation to the
misleading. While the Commission said that these BP deal, that seismic acquisition for CCS
According to the letter, “any inclusion energy sources would only be classified in the purposes was likely to constitute “a significant
of gas within the taxonomy would also Taxonomy under tight conditions, such as new market for our industry.”
undermine the EU’s ambitions to set the requiring gas to come from renewable sources Worth noting, Transocean, another
international benchmark for credible, science- or have low emissions by 2035, lawmakers company best known for its oil and gas
based standards for classifying sustainable from some member states, such as Germany exploration works, has this week secured
economic activities.” and Austria, objected strongly to their a contract with the Northern Lights
“For institutional investors, the inclusion inclusion.. consortium, too, where one of its drilling rigs
of gas will limit their ability to align their will later this year be used for a not-so-typical
portfolios and investment with net zero. At a project for an offshore oil rig.
time when we need clarity, the inclusion of gas Norway’s December oil & gas Namely, the Norwegian oil firm Equinor
creates an unhelpful precedent and muddies plans to use the Transocean Enabler semi-
the waters for investors looking to do the right production rises submersible drilling unit to drill a carbon
thing.” injection well and a sidetrack for another
“The inclusion of gas also risks channelling Norway’s oil and gas output in December rose carbon injection well drilled in early 2020
material levels of capital towards initiatives from the previous month, preliminary data in support of the Northern Lights Carbon
that undermine a sustainable, net-zero future. from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate Capture Storage Project. Read more
We urge policymakers to vote accordingly,” (NPD) showed on January 20. The Northern Lights project comprises
the letter read. Crude oil output increased to 1.84 million transportation, receipt, and permanent
The IIGCC membership includes over barrels per day (bpd) in December from 1.73 storage of CO2 in a reservoir in the northern
370 portfolio and institutional investors and million bpd in November, broadly in line with North Sea, and will be open to third parties.
pension funds, representing more than €50 an official forecast of 1.85 million, the NPD The project will initially include the capture
trillion in assets under management (AUM). said. of CO2 from Norwegian industrial capture
“Many investors, both asset owners and Natural gas production in December rose sources.
asset managers, are trying to chart a course to 10.9 billion cubic metres (bcm) from 10.1 The project is planned to be the first-ever
that supports a 1.5°C future. The inclusion bcm a month ago, above a forecast of 10.4 cross-border, open-source CO2 transport
of gas in the taxonomy risks undermining bcm, it added. . and storage infrastructure network, offering
this ambition and creates an unnecessary European industrial emitters the opportunity
headache for those looking to align their to store their CO2 permanently underground.
portfolios and investments with net zero,” said PGS secures more CO2 Once the CO2 is captured onshore, it will be
Will Martindale, group head of sustainability transported by newly designed ships, injected,
at Cardano. storage work and permanently stored 2,600 meters below
The EU Taxonomy is part of the EU Action the seabed of the North Sea.
Plan on Sustainable Finance, established PGS, a Norwegian seismic data company best Phase one of the project is planned to be
by the EU Technical Expert Group on known for its offshore oil and gas exploration completed in mid-2024 with a capacity of up
Sustainable Finance (EU TEG). services, is expanding into the carbon capture to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
The taxonomy is a classification system and storage arena with its second carbon
enabling the categorization of economic storage survey deal announced in as many

Week 03 20•January•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P13