The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy have awarded the Havstjerne CO2 storage license in the Norwegian Sea to Wintershall Dea and its partner Altera.

Wintershall Dea will be the operator of the license, holding 50% of the shares. The license is located 135 kilometers southwest of Stavanger and has an estimated annual storage capacity of up to 7 million tonnes.

“This second licence award in Norway supports our ambitious target to build a global carbon management portfolio that potentially can abate 20 to 30 million tonnes of CO2per year by 2040. We are proud of the trust that the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy places in our expertise and our ability to contribute to reaching Europe’s climate goals,” said Hugo Dijkgraaf, member of Wintershall Dea’s Board of Executive Directors as well as its Chief Technology Officer. “We are working intensively on delivering the infrastructure Norway needs to become a hub for European carbon storage”, he added.

This award is seen by the Havstjerne partnership is a major step towards developing the Norwegian Continental Shelf into a leading European CO2 storage area.

By creating a method for shipping CO2 to the Havstjerne licence, Wintershall Dea and Altera hope to provide an adaptable and scalable solution, providing storage to emitters all throughout Europe. In order to get CO2 for storage, the alliance has already looked into clusters of emitters in the Baltics, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.

“CCS as a decarbonisation strategy is expected to expand and grow significantly in Europe the coming years, so this is only the beginning. The world needs CCS on a massive scale, and we are proud to be part of the solution. Together with our strong partner Wintershall Dea, we are ready to do our part in leading the industry towards a sustainable future,” said Ingvild Sæther, CEO of Altera Infrastructure Group Ltd.