Very first tender of CO2 storage licenses is opening

Today the Danish Energy Agency will publish an invitational letter stating that from 15 August 2022 it is possible to apply for licenses for investigation of and storage of CO2 in an area of the North Sea.

From 15 August 2022 it is possible to apply for licenses for investigation of and storage of CO₂ in an area of the North Sea. The tendered area lies in the North Sea on the Danish Continental shelf west of 6 degrees 15’ east and north of 56 degrees 00’ north and is delimited on the attached map. 

With the invitation, the Danish Energy Agency will publish the terms for applying for licenses for investigation of and storage of CO₂ pursuant to section 23 of the Danish Subsoil Act. Applications must be received by the Danish Energy Agency by 1 October 2022.

Informational documents and other materials related to the tender can be downloaded from the website of the Danish Energy Agency later today

The tender implements the Climate Agreement

The Danish Government (the Social Democratic Party), Venstre – the Liberal Party of Denmark, the Danish People's Party, the Danish Social Liberal Party, the Socialist People's Party, Enhedslisten, the Conservative People's Party, Liberal Alliance and The Alternative entered on the 30 June 2021 into the Agreemeent of a Roadmap for Storage of CO₂.

It follows from this agreement that carbon capture and storage (CCS) will play a significant part in the achievement of the Danish national reduction targets, due to the potential of CCS-technology to reduce CO₂ emissions in hard-to-abate sectors. Furthermore, CCS has the potential to creative negative CO₂ emission.

 The Agreement was followed by an agreement on the framework conditions for CO₂ storage of 21 June 2022. The agreement states that the Danish state as a rule will participate in the ownership of the licenses for Danish CO₂ storage.

The tender of CO₂ storage licenses in the North Sea is a step on the path to implementing the political agreements regarding the CCS strategy. 

Background: 

• The tender for licenses for the investigation of and storage of CO₂ is the first of its kind in Denmark
• The tender is designed with an annual window for applications in the tendered area.
• Licenses are initally given for the investigation of suitable CO₂ storage locations for up to 6 years. If it is possible to define a suitable location for storage, the license can be extended for up to 30 years.
• A strategic environmental assesment has been carried out for the tender, in order to ensure that storage takes place in an environmentally safe manner.
• The actual storage projects, drilling activity etc. are also subject to individual environmental assesments.

Contact:

Head of division Henrik Sulsbrück, hesu@ens.dk, 33 92 66 86

Special advisor Jesper Brandrup, jbr@ens.dk, 33 92 72 98