“Norway has a leading position in carbon management, and has for many years, worked to develop carbon capture and storage as a cost-effective climate measure in an international perspective. The agreement between NORSAR and Northern Lights provides a cost-effective solution for monitoring CO₂ storage with technology developed in Norway, which can be exported to other countries” says Minister of Energy Terje Aasland.

The potential for storage on the Norwegian continental shelf corresponds to 80 billion tonnes of CO₂, equivalent to Norwegian emissions for 1,600 years, according to estimates from the Norwegian Shelf Directorate.  

“Leveraging decades of expertise in CO₂ storage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, Northern Lights will provide Norwegian and European industry with safe and permanent CO₂ storage within the Aurora license. Continuous monitoring of CO₂ injection, storage, and seismic activity will support safe and reliable operations,” says Northern Lights JV Managing Director Tim Heijn.

Monitoring provides trust and security 

NORSAR will establish and operate a permanent monitoring station near Bergen, using cutting-edge technology to detect and analyse seismic activity related to CO₂ injection in the Aurora reservoir. This data will support Northern Lights in maintaining operational integrity and ensure safe injection and storage.

Senior geophysicist at Northern Lights Matthieu Vinchon, Norwegian Minister of Energy Terje Aasland (Labout Party) and CEO of NORSAR Anne Strømmen Lycke

“Commercial CO₂ storage is a new business area with immense potential for Norway. It is crucial to build trust from day one. This monitoring will also reassure authorities and the public that the storage site maintains its integrity throughout both the injection and long-term storage phases,” says NORSAR CEO Anne Strømmen Lycke.

NORSAR's solution can also be utilized by other storage facilities in Norway and exported internationally.

"The agreement with Northern Lights is an important affirmation that the domestic market has confidence in us," says Lycke.

A New Application of Norwegian-Developed Technology
The technology to be used on Holsnøy has been enhanced through a series of research and development projects supported by the Climate fund and the EU, with Northern Lights' owners—Shell, TotalEnergies, and Equinor—actively partnering with the University of Bergen and Viridien.

In practice, the project involves the reuse of investments made by the Norwegian government in the establishment of NORSAR as the National Data Centre responsible for monitoring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The technology, originally developed to detect vibrations in the ground, has been further refined and will now be used to monitor CO₂ injections and detect any induced seismic activity.

The Minister of Energy believes that the prospects for CO₂ storage in the North Sea are promising, as more and more countries embrace carbon capture and storage as a climate solution. GEUS in Denmark and KNMI in the Netherlands, both National Data Centers under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, are in the process of being assigned the same task for storage sites in their respective countries.

"CO₂ management will be an important contribution to achieving the temperature target of the Paris Agreement. The government aims to facilitate commercial CO₂ storage on the Norwegian continental shelf. With world-leading Norwegian technology, experience, and storage capabilities, we are at the forefront", says Aasland.
 
About NORSAR
NORSAR monitors compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which prohibits the testing of nuclear weapons. Through an extensive network of fiber technology, infrasound, and seismic stations, NORSAR can detect abnormal activity related to critical infrastructure in Norway and Europe, including railways, pipelines, and nuclear power plants.

NORSAR also monitors weather and climate-related phenomena, from earthquakes to landslides and movements in the ice around Svalbard and the poles. Through software solutions for seismic modeling and microseismic monitoring, NORSAR's solutions help improve the collection, processing, and analysis of data that can reduce the risks and costs associated with oil and gas exploration. In the future, NORSAR will also monitor CO₂ storage facilities established both on land and on the seabed, in Norway and internationally.

About Northern Lights JV
Northern Lights JV is a registered general partnership with shared liability (DA), equally owned by Equinor, TotalEnergies, and Shell. The joint venture is part of the Norwegian government's Longship project, which establishes a full-scale carbon capture and storage value chain in Norway.
Northern Lights is the first in the world to offer cross-border transport and storage of CO₂ and is ready to receive and store CO₂ from industry in Norway as part of the Longship project. Northern Lights also has commercial agreements for transport and storage with Yara in the Netherlands and Ørsted in Denmark.

For further information, please contact

Anne Strømmen Lycke
Administrerende direktør i NORSAR
+47 977 94 966
anne.lycke@norsar.no

Morten Eek
Mediekontakt i Northern Lights JV
+47 416 89 515 
morten.eek@norlights.com

Photo credits top photo: Svein Ove Søreide