The Danish Energy Agency postpones the second tender round of CO2 storage licenses in the North Sea

The second tender round for offshore licenses for exploration and use of the subsoil for the geological storage of CO2 in the North Sea is postponed. The tender was set to open on August 15th 2023 according to the executive order on CO2 storage license tenders.

The first tender round of offshore licenses for exploration and use of the subsoil for the geological storage of CO₂ in the North Sea was initiated according to the executive order on CO₂ storage license tenders, according to which license applications are received annually on August 15th with a deadline for applications on October 1^st  in the same year.

In line with the Agreement on the framework for CO₂ storage in Denmark of 21 June 2022 (Follow-up on the CCS strategy in Denmark) the parties of the agreement were to decide, whether the state participation share of future licenses should be set higher after the first tender round in the North Sea. As a result, the second tender round of offshore licenses is postponed, until this matter has been settled.

Next steps

The Danish Energy Agency expects that a new starting date for the tender round will be set later in 2023.

• Tenders for offshore licenses for exploration and use of the subsoil for the geological storage of CO₂ are held annually according to the executive order on CO₂ storage license tenders.
• The first tender round was opened on 15 August 2022 with a deadline for applications on 1 October in the same year. The result of the first tender round was that three licenses were awarded.
• Before the second tender round can be initiated, a clarification must be reached, regarding whether the state participation share in future licenses should be higher.
• It is the tender for offshore licenses in the Danish part of the North Sea that is postponed. The postponement does not affect current licenses or the upcoming onshore tender round.
• The Danish Energy Agency will keep the industry actors updated on the status of the tender.