Equinor, Shell, TotalEnergies take FID on Northern Lights CCS expansion
Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies have made a final investment decision (FID) to progress phase two of the Northern Lights carbon capture development.
The investment by the Northern Lights JV owners (Equinor, Shell, TotalEnergies) is about $714 million. The expansion project received €131 million from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in June 2024.
The news comes following a signed commercial agreement with Stockholm Exergi to transport and store 900,000 tonnes/year (tpy) of biogenic CO2 for 15 years.
The Northern Lights project comprises transportation, receipt, and permanent storage of CO2 in a reservoir in the northern North Sea.
Northern Lights phases
The first phase includes capacity to transport, inject, and store up to 1.5 million tpy of CO2. Once the CO2 is captured onshore, it will be transported by ship to the receiving terminal in Øygarden, pumped via pipeline to a subsea structure at the seabed and injected into a geological formation some 2,500 m below the seabed in the North Sea for permanent storage.
Phase one operations are planned for this summer, with CO2 from Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory in Brevik expected to arrive at the receiving terminal near Kollsnes on Norway’s west coast. Additionally, Northern Lights will store CO2 from the Hafslund Celsio waste-to-energy plant in Oslo, as part of the Longship project (OGJ Online, Oct. 9, 2024).
Northern Lights ready to receive CO2
Phase two aims to increase total injection capacity to at least 5 million tpy of CO2.
The expansion, expected to be ready for operation in second-half 2028, builds on the existing onshore and offshore infrastructure and includes additional onshore storage tanks, pumps, a new jetty, additional injection wells, and transport vessels.
"The expanded storage capacity of the Northern Lights site provides an attractive offering for European industrial emitters who might otherwise struggle to decarbonise," said Marianne Olsnes, managing director in A/S Norske Shell.
Equinor will remain the technical service provider for phase two, responsible for development, construction, and operation, having served in the role for the first phase, leading construction of the onshore plant at Øygarden and the offshore infrastructure.
