Danish Government grants INEOS and its partners onshore CO2 storage exploration licence
The Danish Energy Agency has awarded INEOS and its partners, Wintershall Dea and Nordsøfonden an exploration licence for onshore CO2 storage in the Gassum formation in Jutland, Denmark. Wintershall Dea will act as the operator for the licence.
The Danish subsurface has significant potential for CO2-storage. According to analysis by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), there is capacity to store between 12 and 22 billion tonnes of CO2 in the Danish subsurface, equivalent to 400 to 700 times Denmark`s annual CO2 emissions.
GEUS has identified significant potential for safe CO2 storage within the Gassum licence. The partners in the Gassum licence will now start the exploration process towards potential permanent storage of Danish and European CO2 in the Gassum formation. Experience gained from the INEOS-led Project Greensand and its pilot phase will be utilized in this endeavour, with investigations conducted in close dialogue with national and local authorities in Denmark.
David Bucknall, CEO INEOS Energy stated:
"Establishing offshore and onshore sites for permanent storage of CO₂ will be crucial for the EU to meet its climate goals and to support a robust market for carbon capture and storage. The Gassum onshore licence aligns perfectly with INEOS Energy's strategy: Delivering energy during the green transition and being a frontrunner in carbon capture and storage."
Mads Weng Gade, Head of INEOS Energy Denmark said:
"INEOS has been a frontrunner demonstrating safe and efficient storage in the pilot phase of Project Greensand last year, and we have the ambition to establish the first CO₂ storage within the EU in Greensand by 2025/26. The potential for safe storage in Gassum is high, but we now need to conduct the necessary studies utilizing the important learnings from Greensand to demonstrate safe and efficient storage in Gassum as well. This will of course happen in close collaboration with both national and local authorities."
Note To Editors
About INEOS
https://www.ineos.com/ INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products. In 25 years, the Company has grown into a global player: its production network spans 183 sites in 26 countries throughout the world employing more than 26,000 people.
INEOS Energy operates the Siri field area and the South Arne and the Solsort in Denmark. INEOS operates the leading carbon storage project in Denmark – Project Greensand – which is a pioneering carbon capture and storage CCS) initiative aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by capturing CO2 and securely storing it in depleted oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
The pilot phase of Project Greensand conducted in 2023 focused on demonstrating the feasibility and safety of cross-border CO2 transport and storage. On March 8th 2023, HM King Frederik of Denmark gave the order to store the first CO2 in the Danish subsoil. The pilot phase of Project Greensand validated that CO2 could be stored safely and efficiently.
Based on the learnings and proven scalable concept from the pilot phase INEOS is currently investigating the possibility of establishing the first operating CO2 storage site within the EU in Greensand from 2025/2026 storing captured CO2 from Danish and European emitters. The storage capacity will be scaled gradually towards 2030 where Greensand is expected to deliver storage of up to 8 million tonnes annually.
INEOS is involved in several CCS-projects in Denmark which look into offloading of CO2 to Greensand from the Danish harbours Esbjerg and Hirtshals (Greenport Scandinavia).
Press Contacts
Imogen Robinson (firstlight group) +44 (0) 7742 318 319
Beverley Noble (firstlight group) +44 (0) 7856 460 498
Charlotte Skeggs (firstlight group) +44 (0) 7881 029 586
Richard Longden (INEOS Group) +41 (0) 7996 26123
Peter Hindsberger (INEOS Denmark) + 45 30186697