Equinor and Fluxys partner over building a major infrastructure for transporting captured CO2 in the North Sea

Equinor and Fluxys partner over building a major infrastructure for transporting captured CO2 in the North Sea

(PRESS RELEASE) STAVANGER, 29-Jun-2022 — /EuropaWire/ — Equinor ASA (OSE:EQNR, NYSE:EQNR), an oil, gas, wind and solar energy company active in more than 30 markets globally, has announced it is partnering with Fluxys, a Belgium energy infrastructure group, over a project for the construction of a major infrastructure for the transportation of captured CO2 in the North Sea. The project, still in feasibility stage with an investment decision expected by 2025, will connect Belgium to Norway and will transport captured CO2 from emitters to safe storage sites.

Carbon capture, transport and storage (CCS) is essential for achieving significant CO₂ emission reductions. This project by Equinor and Fluxys offers the North-West European market a robust and flexible solution for large-scale decarbonisation.

The project includes a 1,000 km CO₂ export trunkline operated by Equinor which will transport CO2 for safe and permanent storage under the seabed on the Norwegian continental shelf. The offshore trunkline will connect in Zeebrugge to an onshore CO2 transmission infrastructure built and operated by Fluxys.

The open-access CO₂ transmission system will give emitters in Belgium and surrounding countries the opportunity to connect to safe and reliable CO2 stores in Norway. As it goes, liquefied CO₂ shipped from neighbouring hubs could be connected to the Zeebrugge facility, further increasing the geographical reach of the project.A pipeline branch to the port of Dunkirk is also envisaged and additional connections to other North-West European countries will be assessed as well.

The joint initiative by Equinor and Fluxys aims to develop the CO₂ infrastructure project ready for commissioning before the end of this decade. The offshore pipeline is planned to have a transport capacity of 20 to 40 million tonnes of CO2 per annum, meeting an emerging need for CCS from multiple European industrial players.

The large-scale pipeline transmission solution offers businesses an easy-to-use logistics chain from capture to storage. It is both efficient and economical for large volumes of CO₂ and allows for ample operational flexibility. Fluxys and Equinor will be engaging with interested parties such as major emitting industries to present the project.

Grete Tveit, Equinor’s senior vice president for Low Carbon Solutions says: “We are excited to launch the CO₂ infrastructure project with Fluxys in Belgium. Together, we have the potential to enable large-scale decarbonization of European, carbon intensive industries. With our partners, we can deliver an end-to-end CCS value chain. Equinor believes that CCS is vital to succeed with the energy transition and to reach net-zero by 2050.”

Pascal De Buck, CEO Fluxys:
“We are delighted to launch the CO₂ infrastructure project with Equinor. Together we offer strong and complementary know-how and expertise for providing a wide range of emitters in North-West Europe with a reliable and efficient carbon transmission and storage solution essential for achieving climate change objectives and ensuring the long-term viability of the economy. Our objective with the Equinor-Fluxys project is to offer a robust structural decarbonisation solution and we now make the move to deliver.”

Press contacts

• Fluxys: Laurent Remy – laurent.remy@fluxys.com
  tel. +32 2 282 74 50
• Equinor: Magnus Frantzen Eidsvold – mfei@equinor.com
  tel. +47 97528604

About Equinor
Equinor is an international energy company with 21.000 employees worldwide committed to long-term value creation in a low-carbon future. Equinor’s purpose is to turn natural resources into energy for people and progress for society. Equinor’s portfolio of projects encompasses oil and gas, renewables and low-carbon solutions, with an ambition of becoming a net-zero energy company by 2050.

Earlier this year, Equinor was awarded the Smeaheia and Polaris CO2 licenses, important building blocks for developing the Norwegian continental shelf into a leading province for CO2 storage in Europe.
Equinor participates in a consortium that has started the construction of the Northern Lights project, the world’s first full-scale and open-source CO2 transportation and storage project. The company has a growing portfolio in offshore wind with wind farms in Europe and the USA and is involved in various hydrogen projects throughout Europe.

About Fluxys
Headquartered in Belgium, Fluxys is a fully independent energy infrastructure group with 1,300 employees active in gas transmission & storage and liquefied natural gas terminalling. Through its associated companies across the world, Fluxys operates 12,000 kilometres of pipeline and liquefied natural gas terminals totalling a yearly regasification capacity of 29 billion cubic metres. Among Fluxys’ subsidiaries is Euronext listed Fluxys Belgium, owner and operator of the infrastructure for gas transmission & storage and liquefied natural gas terminalling in Belgium.
As a purpose-led company, Fluxys together with its stakeholders contributes to a better society by shaping a bright energy future. Building on the unique assets of its infrastructure and its commercial and technical expertise, Fluxys is committed to transporting hydrogen, biomethane or any other carbon-neutral energy carrier as well as CO2, accommodating the capture, usage and storage of the latter.

SOURCE: Equinor ASA