French energy company TotalEnergies announced on Tuesday it has reached a deal with CapeOmega to acquire a 40% participating interest in a CO2 storage exploration license off the coast of Norway.
Located 120 kilometers offshore Bergen in 200 meters water depth, ExL004 (the Luna project) covers an area of 453 square kilometers. ExL004 is operated by Wintershall DEA Norge AS with a 60% participating interest.
The license is adjacent to the license where the Northern Lights CO2 storage project (TotalEnergies, 33%) is under development, with a first phase due to start in 2024.
“This transaction is an important milestone to grow our CO2 storage offering: subject to a successful exploration, this area could enable the storage of several hundred million tons of CO2 from hard-to-abate industries in Europe,” said Arnaud Le Foll, Senior Vice-President New Business - Carbon Neutrality at TotalEnergies. “With the Northern Lights start-up in 2024 and other projects under development in the Netherlands, Denmark and the U.K., TotalEnergies is building a world-class carbon storage portfolio across the North Sea. Norway will play a leading role in this portfolio thanks to its large geological storages and supportive government policies.”