What HEREMA is looking for in Norway. Norwegian know-how for offshore CCS

Northern Lights Jetty. Credits: Northern Lights

Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management (HEREMA) is aiming to once again utilize Norwegian know-how for offshore CCS facility projects in Greece, such as Prinos, but also as material for the preparation of relevant guidelines.

In the direction of acquiring know-how for developing technologies, such as CO2 capture and storage, HEREMA has been collaborating since the beginning of the year with the Norwegian DNV , which specializes in safety and protection issues of specific facilities and in the development of the relevant institutional framework.

According to the information, the above is to be utilized by HEREMA in the context of drafting national guidelines for the offshore safety of CO2 capture and storage facilities, through another Greek-Norwegian collaboration  funded by  EEA Grants .

The EEA Grants (European Economic Area Financial Mechanism 2014-2021) represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.

And the financing of this second project, which will be completed at the end of April, has as its subject the "Safety Regulations for offshore underground gas storage projects (CO2) and wind farms, as well as modern technologies and solutions in the field of floating wind farms adapted to Greek conditions."

"Northern Lights" and its new $1.1 billion investment

On this basis, the contribution of the Norwegian side is expected to be very important, as DNV had undertaken the drafting of the updated guideline documents for the implementation of the European CCS Directive.

Norway is a pioneer in this sector, having already implemented iconic projects - such as "Sleipner", "Snøhvit" and, most importantly, "Northern Lights", the largest project worldwide.

The project, which is designed to store CO2 in a reservoir 2,600 meters below the seabed, is now in the expansion phase.

In late March, Northern Lights made the investment decision

(https://norlights.com/news/northern-lights-is-expanding-capacity-through-commercial-agreement/ ) to increase the facility’s capacity to at least 5 million tons of CO2 per year, up from the current 1.5 million tons. This was preceded by an agreement to transport and store up to 900,000 tons of CO2 from the Swedish energy company Stockholm Exergi.

In terms of investment, the project by Total Energies, Equinor and Shell is estimated at 7.5 billion Norwegian kroner (approximately 1.15 billion dollars), which will be financed by the European CEF Energy program and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2028.

The safety and security of CCS facilities 

In practice, the HEREMA - DNV collaboration concerns the safety of projects of such a scale of offshore installations, through a series of meetings and workshops held over the last four months. In these, the Norwegian side presented a series of Guidance Documents for the implementation of the European CCS Directive, in the writing of which it participated, the CO2RISKMAN guidance document prepared by the company itself for the protection of CCS installations, as well as examples of existing CCS installations in Europe, and beyond.

The above also constitutes a preparatory stage for the new roles and responsibilities that HEREMA will be called upon to serve in the near future based on the progress of the CCS projects that will be implemented in Greece.

It should be noted that the foundation of the CCS hub in Greece is urgent, as the Prinos project falls under the Recovery Fund projects, which have a tight schedule.

DG CLIMA receives the plan for the Prinos storage permit

The draft storage permit for the project has been sent by HEREMA to DG CLIMA for review before the issuance of the final permit. The latter also requires the issuance of the approval of the relevant environmental conditions by the Hellenic Directorate of Environmental Licensing (DIPA) of the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development.

As CCS projects in our country, and especially that of Prinos, begin to mature, it is obvious that there is a need, analogous to what applies to offshore hydrocarbon exploitation facilities, to provide guidelines for the supervision of the safety of these specific infrastructures.

In this context, the cooperation with the Norwegian side , which is implemented with funding from EEA Grants , is important, again aiming at the transfer of know-how to developing energy sectors, from underground CO2 storage projects to offshore wind farms, as well as safety issues, as well as which offshore technologies are considered the most suitable for the case of Greece. 

It should be noted that the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons, where a legislative framework and clear safety rules already exist, has many things in common with underground gas storage, but there are also points that require further study. In this logic, it was deemed appropriate to utilize the experience of the Norwegians, in order for HEREMA to lay the foundations for the upcoming project in Prinos. 

source: energypress.gr