French-based oil and gas company TotalEnergies has purchased a 40% participating interest in the carbon capture and storage (CCS) exploration license ExL004, also known as the Luna project. The news was announced by the company on August 22.
The Luna project is a 453 km² license in the North Sea, located 120 km west of the Norwegian city of Bergen. The license has a carbon storage potential for over five million metric tons annually to be stored inside drilled wells and aquifers beneath the seafloor.
As a part of the deal, Wintershall Dea is constructing a carbon hub in Wilhelmshaven, Norway, where the carbon dioxide will be collected and temporarily stored prior to its offshore transport.
60% of the Luna project is owned and operated by Wintershall DEA Norge, the first exploration license in Norway awarded to the company. TotalEnergies acquired its 40% interest from the CCS subdivision of CapeOmega.
“This transaction is an important milestone to grow our CO₂ storage offering: subject to a successful exploration, this area could enable the storage of several hundred million tons of CO₂ from hard-to-abate industries in Europe,” said Arnaud Le Foll, Senior Vice President New business, Carbon neutrality – Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies.
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TotalEnergies also holds 33% in the Northern Lights CCS project, which aims to store 1.5 million tons of carbon annually below the sea. The project is expected to begin storage in 2024 and is set to expand to 5 million tons by 2026.
The upcoming launch of Northern Lights in 2024, along with ongoing projects in the Netherlands, Denmark, and the UK are all part of TotalEnergies CCS portfolio in the North Sea, Le Foll said, adding that Norway will play an important role in this portfolio because of its substantial geological storages and supportive government policies.
Read more: Oil & Gas Industry Should Set Carbon Targets At COP28 – TotalEnergies CEO
