Five areas of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) have been nominated by oil and gas operators as potentially suitable sites for carbon dioxide storage, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said today.
The announcement follows a call for help from energy companies by the directorate for companies for locations of possible sites.
Several companies responded to the call Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
Eva Halland, project manager and geologist in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said: “It is very positive that several companies have displayed enthusiasm for storage of CO2 on the Norwegian shelf.”
She said the industry was very familiar with the Norwegian shelf and that this was an important factor in why the companies had been invited to point out possible storage areas.
“We currently have good experience with storage of CO2 on the Norwegian shelf. CO2 from both the Sleipner Vest and Snøhvit fields is currently stored in subsea reservoirs,” she said.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has said it wants to give the industry access to areas for future storage of carbon dioxide from the Mongstad facility in Hordaland and any other sources in combination with carbon dioxide from Mongstad.
The work is also aimed at contributing to more knowledge and general insight about safe storage of carbon dioxide.
The invitation was sent to all operators on the Norwegian shelf in June with a deadline of October 4.
Companies were invited to suggest areas in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea that are open for petroleum activities but where storage of carbon dioxide was not likely to conflict with petroleum activity.
At the end of the year, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate will present an atlas of possible storage locations for carbon dioxide in the North Sea.
