44 oil and gas companies are named by the EU as contributing to the 2030 CO2 injection targets.

The European Commission has adopted a delegated regulation and a corresponding decision outlining the obligations for oil and gas producers related to the targets set by the European Union (EU) for CO2 storage.

Since the EU aims to achieve a CO2 injection capacity of at least 50 million tonnes per year by 2030, as outlined in the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), oil and gas producers are required to contribute to accomplishing this feat. This objective is thought to be crucial for decarbonizing EU industries and tackling the climate crisis.

The new delegated regulation adopted on May 21, 2025, lists the identification and calculation rules that apply to European oil and gas producers required to provide new CO2 storage solutions by 2030. The related decision, adopted the following day, sets out how much each oil and gas producing company needs to contribute to fulfilling this target.

Now that the delegated regulation has been adopted, it is subject to a two-month scrutiny period by the Parliament and Council. If no objection is made, it is expected to enter into force at the end of July 2025, at the same time as the decision setting the companies’ shares.

Kurt Vandenberghe, the European Commission’s Director General for Climate Action, said: “On our way to climate neutrality, we need a portfolio of effective decarbonisation solutions.

Carbon capture is part of our strategy to deliver emission reductions and permanent removals for energy-intensive industries. The Net-Zero Industry Act mandates an annual CO2 safe and permanent storage capacity in the EU of at least 50 million tonnes by 2030 and makes the European oil and gas industry part of the solution.”

More specifically, companies whose combined production of crude oil and natural gas in the Union amounted to 95 % of the volume of crude oil and natural gas produced in the Union from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2023, are considered obligated entities, subject to the contribution obligations. 

44 oil and gas companies fall within this category. Their contributions are said to be proportional to their share of the Union’s crude oil and natural gas production from 2020 to 2023.

The first name on the top 10 list is Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), followed by OMV Petrom, Romgaz, Orlen, Eni, Wintershall Dea Deutschland, TotalEnergies Nederland, MOL Group, Shell Italia, and BlueNord Energy Denmark.

Their operational CO2 injection capacity contribution obligations range from 6.3 million tonnes of CO2 per year (NAM) to 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 per year (BlueNord).

Last October, NAM, a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Shell and ExxonMobil, announced that it would end its exploration and gas production operations in the North Sea after more than 60 years. The deal is expected to close in mid-2025.

On the other hand, producers whose production volumes of crude oil and natural gas made up 5 % of the cumulative Union production volumes in the same period are excluded from this obligation.

The 44 players are required to provide operational CO2 injection capacity by December 31, 2030, in geological storage sites permitted in accordance with the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Directive.

“Having extracted hydrocarbons and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, it will now contribute to storing CO2 and help mitigate climate change. By combining their industrial know-how with faster permitting processes and robust financial support – including from the ETS-resourced Innovation Fund – we can make substantial progress in advancing industrial decarbonisation and modernisation in Europe,” added Vandenberghe.

As explained, each storage site will be recognized by Member States as a net-zero strategic project within the CO2 value chain. This can include the CO2 capture and associated transport infrastructures.  

These projects are expected to speed up the development of industrial carbon management solutions and play a key role in the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries across Europe.

Furthermore, the obligated entities need to submit a plan to the Commission listing details of how they intend to achieve their contribution to the Union CO2 injection capacity objective by the end of June. These plans need to confirm the entity’s contribution and specify the means and the milestones for reaching the targeted volume.

Some EU countries have already set the wheels in motion to develop CO2 storage sites. One of them is Denmark, whose Energy Agency recently prequalified ten companies eligible to submit proposals for funding available under its carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiative aimed at helping the country reach its climate goals.

The approximately $4.31 billion available under the initiative is expected to help the country slash its annual CO2 emissions by 2.3 million tonnes from 2030.

source: offshore-energy.biz