Prinos: Landmark decision for the implementation of a strategic energy project

Foto Credit: Energean. Prinos

The Hellenic Hydrocarbon and Energy Resources Management Company (HHREMC), as the country’s competent licensing authority for the geological storage of CO2, announced that a storage permit for the national and strategic energy project “Prinos CO2” has been granted to EnEarth Greece – a subsidiary of Energean and the project’s implementing body.

The landmark decision establishes that the geological formation in Prinos is suitable for use as a CO2 storage site, provided that the prescribed procedures and conditions of use set out in the permit are ensured. The issuance of the decision completes the basic licensing stage defined by national and EU legislation, which began in 2022 with the issuance of the exploration permit for the CO2 storage potential in the area.

The storage permit has a duration of 25 years and covers the site and the storage complex in the Prinos concession area, in the maritime area off Kavala. The storage site is defined as the depleted oil field with the underlying brackish aquifer, i.e. the geological unit where the underground CO2 storage will take place at a depth of approximately 3 km below the seabed, as well as the accompanying surface injection and production facilities. The maximum permitted injection rate during the first phase of the project is one million tons of CO2 per year.

The issuance of the storage permit follows a comprehensive and documented assessment of the dossier submitted by the project implementing body, as well as the relevant opinion from DG CLIMA of the European Commission – the Directorate-General for Climate Action leading efforts to combat climate change.

During the assessment of the dossier and the preparation of the storage permit, HEREMA had the support of the renowned consulting firm EY, the renowned law firm NKLaw, as well as the specialized technical consultants Axis Well Technology (Axis) – a company with extensive experience in the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) sector and participation in the assessment of many CO2 geological storage projects in the United Kingdom.

The project will start its operation with the injection of the first quantities of CO2, provided that HEREMA validates that the implementing body meets all the relevant obligations stipulated in the storage permit. These include the approval of the package of plans governing the safety of the project – such as the final storage plan, the revised risk management plan, the updated monitoring plan, the updated corrective measures plan, as well as the temporary shutdown and closure period plan.

The underground storage of CO2 in the depleted Prinos deposit is a project of particular importance and a key infrastructure of national and European interest, within the framework of the country's integrated energy and climate strategy and the protection of domestic industry. This is the first geological storage project of CO2 to be implemented in Greece and only the second in Southeastern Europe. The project is co-financed with European funds through the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Connecting Europe Facility, and is supervised by the European Commission and DG CLIMA.

source: naftika chronika