Energy giant, TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with CapeOmega Carbon Storage AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapeOmega AS, to acquire the 40% participating interest held by CapeOmega in the CO2 storage exploration licence ExL004 (the “Luna” project).
The licence, operated by Wintershall Dea with a 60 per cent interest, covers an area of 453 km2 and is adjacent to the licence where the Northern Lights CO2 storage project in which TotalEnergies holds a 33 per cent stake is under development, with a first phase due to start in 2024.
Arnaud Le Foll, Senior Vice-President New Business – Carbon Neutrality at TotalEnergies, commented: “This transaction is an important milestone to grow our CO2 storage offering: subject to successful exploration, this area could enable the storage of several hundred million tons of CO2 from hard-to-abate industries in Europe.
“With the Northern Lights start-up in 2024 and other projects under development in the Netherlands, Denmark, and the UK, TotalEnergies is building a world-class carbon storage portfolio across the North Sea. Norway will play a leading role in this portfolio thanks to its large geological storages and supportive government policies.”
According to Westwood’s data, Europe possesses an approximate 500 GT of potential CO₂ storage capacity in saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon fields, notably including substantial offshore reserves in the UK and Norway. As Norway continues to offer acreage, the UK recently unveiled initial outcomes from its inaugural carbon storage licencing round, awarding 20 carbon storage licences to 12 firms.
Interest in carbon capture and storage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) is rising, with two designated areas as of July 2023. Authorities have granted two exploitation licences for CO2 storage. Norway is actively working to enhance its European connections and simplify CO₂ transport barriers.
To this end, the EU and Norway established the Green Alliance in April 2023, strengthening their shared climate commitments and collaborative efforts toward clean energy transition. In parallel, Belgium and Norway are in formal negotiations for cross-border CO₂ transport and storage.
TotalEnergies has acknowledged the pivotal role of CCS in emission reduction, positioning itself to contribute to the decarbonisation of European industries. The oil major is also pursuing more hydrocarbons, with a greater focus on gas.
