Equinor’s Post

Yesterday we celebrated the completion of the Northern Lights facility in Øygarden, outside Bergen in Norway. It is the world’s first cross-border CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. In practice it means we now can offer CO2 transport and storage as a service.   This is important for many, for Shell, TotalEnergies and Equinor as owners, for Øygarden as an important energy region, and for Norway. But it is also important for people, jobs and local communities around Europe, who are dependent on the industry’s ability to decarbonise productions, in steel, chemicals and concrete to mention a few.     I would like to thank everyone involved in the Northern Lights project, people, partners and peers. More than three million hours have been worked with no serious incidents. And it is truly remarkable to complete a complex and groundbreaking project on time and on cost.   It is no secret that the Northern Light project would not have been a reality without significant state support as part of the Longship project. When we are now planning the next phase of the project, it is to be financed by the owner companies without government support.   It is easy to get caught up in the challenges in the energy transition. They are real, and they need to be addressed. At the same time, things are moving at a greater scale and a faster pace than ever before. There is reason for optimism, because things are happening. Northern Lights is no longer on a drawing board, it is a reality! Photo: Equinor/Torstein Lund Eik

Learn about the groundbreaking Northern Lights project in Norway, powered by Shell, Equinor and TotalEnergies.

This week, I had the pleasure of visiting the Northern Lights plant in Øygarden, a first-of-its-kind plant enabling a value chain for carbon capture, transport, and storage. It is impressive to see the site at the scale of the plant, and that words can be put into action. Yesterday, it was announced that Equinor had been successfully awarded three new licenses for carbon storage: two in Norway and one in Denmark. 🇧🇻🇳🇴🇩🇰 These licenses are critical enablers for the continuation of the effort toward decarbonisation, aligning with the ambition to have CCS capacity between 30–50 million tons of CO2 per year by 2035. Now, the hard work starts to prove that large amounts of CO2 can be stored safely and ensure that the projects can fly commercially and technically. The future is bright, and I look forward to contributing to shaping the future of CCS and hydrogen.

Safe, profitable, sustainable, and with purpose.   We therefore see our work in the Upstream area of Repsol and that is how we conveyed it to our United States #team in the town hall we held at our Houston offices some days ago, during which I had the chance to share with them the objectives we have set ourselves for the immediate future and the strategy and investments we will roll out to achieve them.   The first and most important of them all, the production of 100,000 new barrels in the next four years, for which we will invest 10 billion dollars. But also new low-carbon projects, such as the Carbon Capture and Storage project that we are projecting in the region. Both projects are the reflection of the Company’s vision of the Upstream area: on the one hand, an essential asset to continue supplying the hydrocarbons that society demands. On the other hand, a key pillar in the company’s #energytransition process that, through #innovation, also contributes to the reduction of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.   But as I have already said before, these events go well beyond figures and plans, they are also a chance to respond to the team’s concerns, solve their doubts, and share with them the motivation that this very exciting moment of change that we are experiencing represents.   Success is achieved by working in the long term and with firm steps. And this town hall has undoubtedly been one of them. Thanks to everyone who has taken part!

𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐇𝟐𝐇 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 Equinor's H2H Saltend hydrogen production plant, a pioneering 600-megawatt facility with carbon capture, has received planning permission in the UK, boosting the Humber region's bid to become a global low carbon hydrogen hub and significantly cut carbon emissions. Energy Efficiency and Green Finance Minister Lord Martin Callanan commented, "The planning permission for H2H Saltend is a crucial step in the Humber's decarbonization, bringing jobs and growth." H2H Saltend Project Director Derek Ho expressed, "We're thrilled with the planning permission, which is pivotal for launching decarbonization efforts in the Humber, a key area for Equinor." East Riding of Yorkshire Council Leader Anne Handley remarked, "This decision is significant for both the project and the region. It highlights East Yorkshire's capability to attract major investments like Equinor's, leading to job creation, supply chain contracts, and local opportunities, positioning us at the forefront of the net zero transition." To read the full story click the link below and follow commerce & Industry for more updates. #climate #solarpanels #renewableenergy #solarpower #solarenergy #sustainableenergy

Denmark has awarded 3 ONSHORE CO2 storage licences. Something quite unique in the European context. Happy to see that progressing... It's likely that having an appropriate onshore CO2 storage site could provide a more agile (e.g. InSAR can be used at its full potential) and cost effective monitoring environment than offshore counterparts, potentially also closer to capture points and emitters. I'm curious to know more about potential reservoirs, their "pressure setting" and proximity to deep old faults, which are critical element to monitor. Containment must be guaranteed with a risk based approach and high level project strategy has to be communicated properly to the society to ensure transparency.

Norway - TotalEnergies, together with Equinor and Shell, have launched Northern Lights, the first cross-border CCUS value chain project. Phase 1 installations are scheduled to come on stream in 2024 to handle 1.5 million tons of CO2 per year. The ambition is to expand the CO2 storage capacity to 5 mtpa by 2026 and more than 10 mtpa by 2030. "Several companies are interested in using Northern Lights to decarbonize their operations. The first commercial agreement was signed in August 2022 with Yara. Starting in 2025, 800,000 metric tons of CO2 per year will be captured, compressed and liquefied in the Netherlands, then transported to the Northern Lights site, where it will be permanently sequestered in geological layers buried about 2,600 meters below the seabed, off Øygarden in the Norwegian North Sea." #climateaction #energytransition #ccus TotalEnergies - https://lnkd.in/dFx_gZTC

A ‘historic day’ has been marked in Norway with the official completion of a transport and storage facility for CO2 captured from industrial activities. The Longship project, Norway’s first full-scale carbon capture and storage project, has been augmented by the transport, receiving terminal and pipeline works by the Northern Lights joint venture in Øygarden and was reported in Maritime Journal just over a month ago. The Longship part of the project entails capturing the CO2 from the Heidelberg Materials cement factory in Brevik and the waste-to-energy plant Hafslund Oslo Celsio. This is where the Northern Lights JV, consisting of energy giants Shell, Equinor and TotalEnergies, steps in, to transport and store the gas. Liquid carbon dioxide is transported by ship to an offshore receiving terminal, where it is then piped 100km to its permanent offshore storage location then injected into a saline aquifer some 2,600m below the surface of the sea. “The onshore and offshore infrastructure has been delivered in time for customers and within budget and is now ready to receive CO2 from Norwegian and European industry,” a statement said. Read the full story on Maritime Journal; https://lnkd.in/es5gT3sG

We're delighted that Equinor has been granted planning permission by East Riding of Yorkshire Council for a low carbon hydrogen production plant at Saltend. Hydrogen to Humber Saltend (H2H Saltend) is a clean hydrogen plant that will produce hydrogen from natural gas in combination with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Initially the plant will allow industrial customers at Saltend Chemicals Park to switch over to hydrogen fueled energy and will reduce the amount of fossil fuels going into the Park’s Triton Power Limited gas-fired power plant, thus cutting emissions by nearly 900,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. If successful in the government's forthcoming Cluster Sequencing Track-1 Expansion process, H2H Saltend will provide new jobs and secure existing jobs in the region and will play an important role in the UK's journey towards Net Zero. #decarbonisation #netzero #carboncapture #lowcarbon #hydrogen

Did Equinor just 'hint' that they won the two Danish Onshore licenses they applied for? (Article below from Energywatch in Danish) 🤐 ... if so we are not surprised... 😏 Rumors are that the winners of the Danish Onshore Storage licenses have received their official 'offer letters'. Meanwhile the rest of the CCS community are awaiting the official announcement which is expected any day! The large O&G companies are definitely the favorites in the field given their vast experience with exploration, strong safety records (which is extremely important in a new industry, developing in your backyard), deep pockets - and the so-called takeback obligation. What we hope to see at CCUS Partners is real action, and a push to execute the exploration programs safely and fast, to develop a new onshore storage industry in Denmark. We are also fans of competition, - and although the O&G majors are well-positioned - it would be great to see other types of winners to make sure the O&G majors are not exclusively sitting on all the European storage licenses... https://lnkd.in/dcdtdfz8