Northern Lights Signs CO2 Transportation and Storage Agreement with Yara

The Northern Lights joint venture has signed the world’s first commercial agreement on cross border CO2 transportation and storage, describing the milestone as an important step to decarbonize Europe.

Northern Lights is a joint venture between Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies. It is responsible for developing the transport and storage component of the Norwegian government’s full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project known as Longship, which involves the capture of CO2 from industrial sources in the Oslo region of Norway for permanent storage below the North Sea.

Northern Lights this week announced signing an agreement with Norwegian chemical company Yara on the main commercial terms to transport CO2 captured from Yara Sluiskil, an ammonia and fertiliser plant in the Netherlands, and permanently store it under the seabed off the coast of Norway.

“This is a major milestone for the development of carbon capture, transport and storage. With the first commercial agreement for transportation and storage of CO2, we open a value chain that is critical for the world to reach net zero by 2050. Together with our partners, we are building infrastructure to decarbonise industry and energy, securing industrial activity and jobs in a low carbon future,” says Anders Opedal, CEO and president of Equinor.

Under the agreement, approximately 800,000 tonnes of CO2 will be captured, compressed and liquefied in the Netherlands from early 2025, and then transported by ship to the terminal for storages at 2,600 meters under the seabed on the Norwegian continental shelf. With the agreement, Northern Lights’ phase 1 has reached full capacity and joint venture is now working to mature phase 2 for final investment decision, increasing the total capacity to 5-6 million tonnes CO2 per year.

“With this commercial agreement, we are passing a major milestone in the development of a value chain for carbon capture, transport and storage,” said Irene Rummelhoff, executive vice president for Marketing, midstream and processing at Equinor. “We experience an increased demand for this service, particularly from large industrial clusters on the European continent. Capture, transport and storage of CO2 is also a prerequisite to produce blue hydrogen and ammonia. These products can eliminate emissions in several energy sectors and act as low carbon feedstock in many industries.”

The agreement with Yara is the latest related to the project. The Northern Lights JV in October placed a shipbuilding order in China for the construction of two dedicated CO2 carriers equipped with Norsepower Rotor Sails. In January, Transocean was selected to drill the carbon injection well and a second sidetrack well for the project.

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