As part of its broader effort to scale up industrial decarbonization, the European Commission has issued new rules obligating key oil and gas companies to help build CO2 storage capacity across the EU.
This move supports both the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy and the Clean Industrial Deal.
A newly adopted Delegated Regulation outlines how oil and gas producers will be identified and how their contributions will be calculated.
Based on this framework, the Commission has published a formal Decision assigning responsibility to specific companies for creating CO2 storage infrastructure, with the collective goal of enabling the injection of 50 million metric tons of CO2 annually by 2030. This target is a central element of the EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act.
The mandate applies to 44 companies (full list available on page 6 of the Commission’s decision announcement), including OMV Petrom, Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij, SNG Romgaz, Orlen, Eni, Wintershall Dea Deutschland, TotalEnergies EP Nederland, and others. Their required contributions are based on the volume of oil and gas they produced between 2020 and 2023.
Each company must deliver functioning CO2 injection sites by the end of 2030, in line with EU regulations under the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Directive (2009/31/EC).
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These sites will provide capacity for captured carbon from emitters aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
“On our way to climate neutrality, we need a portfolio of effective decarbonisation solutions. Carbon capture is part of our strategy to deliver emission reductions and permanent removals for energy-intensive industries,” said Kurt Vandenberghe, Director General for Climate Action.
Companies listed in Annex 2, which produced smaller volumes during the reference period, are not subject to the storage requirement. All qualifying storage facilities will be designated by EU Member States as Net-Zero Strategic Projects.
These designations extend to related infrastructure, including carbon capture systems and transport networks — further strengthening the EU’s CO2 management capabilities and supporting hard-to-abate sectors.
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