In Norway, two contractors have been engaged for the technical and commercial development of a planned offshore carbon capture and storage project owned by Vaar Energi, Inpex, and Storegga.

Description of the Trudvang CCS Project

The Trudvang CCS project is located in the North Sea near the Sleipnir field. The project aims to inject carbon dioxide, sourced from external providers, into the Utsira formation, which is recognized as a certified global CO₂ storage site. At the Sleipnir field, CO₂ has already been stored in the Utsira aquifer for nearly 30 years.

Contractors and Their Roles

Aker Solutions and Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers have been selected as contractors for the project. On May 4, a memorandum of understanding was signed between these companies and Vaar Energi, the operator of Trudvang CCS. The parties agreed to jointly develop an integrated value chain for the transportation and storage of CO₂.

Potential and Technical Solutions

The project is scheduled to launch in 2029. Trudvang will enable the capture of CO₂ from multiple industrial sources and is designed to store up to 9 million tons of CO₂ per year, which represents almost 20% of Norway’s annual CO₂ emissions.

Both contractors have extensive experience in offshore engineering, the development and operation of CO₂ storage facilities, and maritime transport. The Entr division of Aker Solutions has completed a feasibility study for Trudvang, assessing the technical and commercial viability of two concepts for unmanned offshore platforms for CO₂ injection at sea.

Licensing and Ownership Structure

The Trudvang project is based on license EXL007 on the Norwegian continental shelf, issued by the Norwegian Ministry of Energy in September 2023. Currently, the project shares are distributed as follows: Vaar Energi — 40%, Inpex — 30%, Storegga — 30%.