The Northern Lights project, led by Equinor, is operational and is currently the world's only cross-border carbon dioxide reception facility. In its first year, it injected over 39,000 tonnes of CO2 from Norwegian emitters. The project's Phase 1 has a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum, serving initial clients from Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden. A sanctioned Phase 2 will expand this capacity to 5 million tonnes per annum.

Regulatory Landscape and Project Growth

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate regulates the CO2 storage business and has overseen rapid growth in proposed offshore sites. To date, it has awarded 13 offshore areas for storage: one exploitation licence and 12 exploration licences. The combined potential storage volume across these projects exceeds 2 billion tonnes of CO2.

Challenges in Realizing Storage Potential

The actual amount of CO2 stored will depend on several factors, including further geological mapping, market access to CO2, and the final development solutions chosen by the projects. A key challenge is that while Norway has substantial storage capacity, it lacks significant domestic sources of CO2, necessitating the import of emissions from Europe to create a viable value chain.

Licensing Process and Project Maturation

The directorate operates an open-door policy for carbon capture and storage acreage, meaning there are no formal licensing rounds. Companies initiate the process by notifying the regulator after identifying and mapping desired areas. Currently, activity is high, with licence holders focused on maturing their acreage by assessing storage capacity and developing commercial solutions for CO2 sourcing and transportation.