Overview
The Horda Platform in the Norwegian North Sea hosts several CO₂ storage initiatives, including the Northern Lights project (EL001), which is among the first operational CO₂ storage developments in Europe. The region represents an active offshore environment, where monitoring strategies must support ongoing operations and provide reliable information from complex seismic datasets.
Within SAFE-C, the Horda Platform serves as a key case study for integrating regional and local seismic monitoring and for improving the interpretation of seismic signals in areas with multiple natural and anthropogenic sources.
Site Characteristics
- Location: Norwegian North Sea, Horda Platform
- Storage type: Deep saline aquifer
- Geological setting: Jurassic sandstone formations overlain by regional caprock (EL001 / ELX002)
- Operational status: CO₂ injection initiated (EL001 startup August 2025) / early operational phase
The presence of ongoing or imminent injection activities makes this region particularly relevant for studying both background and potential injection-induced seismicity.
Monitoring Approach
SAFE-C focuses on combining regional and site-specific monitoring to provide a comprehensive and reliable view of seismic activity in the area.
Key elements include:
- Integration of regional seismic networks with local monitoring systems
- Use of offshore sensors and emerging technologies to improve detection near the storage site
- Application of advanced data processing workflows for consistent event detection and characterisation
- Development of methods to identify and separate different types of seismic signals, including earthquakes, underwater explosions and signals from active seismic air-gun campaigns
This integrated approach supports robust interpretation of seismic observations in a complex offshore environment.
Role within SAFE-C
The Horda Platform case study provides a key setting for developing and applying monitoring and analysis approaches in an active offshore environment:
- Analysing seismicity in a region with ongoing CO₂ storage operations
- Improving the understanding of background seismicity in the Norwegian North Sea
- Developing methods to distinguish earthquakes from other seismic sources, such as underwater explosions and signals from active seismic air-gun campaigns
- Supporting the integration of regional and site-specific seismic observations into a consistent monitoring framework
The site contributes to ensuring that seismic signals are correctly identified and interpreted, which is essential for reliable monitoring and communication in areas with multiple overlapping seismic sources.
Why the Horda Platform Matters
The Horda Platform represents a large-scale, operational CO₂ storage setting in a complex offshore environment with multiple overlapping sources of seismic signals. This makes it particularly well suited for advancing monitoring approaches that rely on robust data interpretation.
Insights gained here are especially important for:
- Improving the identification and interpretation of seismic signals in areas with both natural and anthropogenic sources
- Enhancing the reliability of event detection and characterisation in offshore environments
- Supporting the integration of regional and local monitoring systems
- Increasing confidence in seismic observations used by operators, regulators and other stakeholders
The results contribute to more robust and transferable approaches for seismic monitoring in offshore settings where multiple signal sources need to be distinguished and interpreted consistently.
Learn more:
Links to Other Case Study Sites
SAFE-C combines insights from the Horda Platform with results from other sites to cover a range of monitoring scenarios.
Greensand (Denmark)