Denmark grants first carbon storage permits to Wintershall Dea, Equinor, others using oil and gas model
(Bloomberg) – Denmark awarded its first permits allowing companies to investigate the feasibility of carbon storage in underground sites, using a model already used for the Nordic country’s oil and gas projects.
Units of Wintershall Dea AG, INEOS Group, Equinor ASA and Orsted AS are among the companies that were granted rights to explore whether the Danish subsoil is suitable for commercial CO2 storage and establish whether the process can be done safely and securely, the Danish Energy Agency said Thursday. If they are successful, the companies will be able to apply for permission to start storage.
The Danish state will partner with project developers and take a 20% stake in all licenses for storing CO2 underground, mirroring the existing model used for oil and gas licenses.
In neighboring Norway, authorities on Thursday awarded licenses to six companies, including Equinor and Aker BP ASA, for CO2 storage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. A $2.6 billion network connecting a cement plant south of Oslo and a new facility on the coast near Bergen is due to start pumping carbon under the seabed next year.
