CapeOmega, Neptune to explore offshore CCS project

NoordKaap will provide access to CO₂ subsurface storage sites offshore the Netherlands and Norway. (Photo: Neptune Energy.)

CapeOmega and Neptune Energy plan to develop a CO2 storage project for industrial emitters across Europe. The project, known as NoordKaap, will transport CO2 via vessels suitable for directly injecting the CO2 at offshore locations and terminal offloading.

Germany’s RWE Generation has signed a letter of intent with CapeOmega and Neptune Energy to assess the possibility to ship green CO2 from their biomass Eemshaven facility for offshore storage in the Dutch North Sea.

NoordKaap will examine the potential for a network-based approach to carbon capture and storage (CCS) via marine transport and could make a crucial contribution to Dutch, Norwegian and European climate and energy goals, the companies said.

The overall objective of NoordKaap is to provide cost-effective, scalable infrastructure solutions to facilitate large-scale, flexible CO2 transport and storage from multiple industrial emitters clusters. The partners plan to use NoordKaap to store CO2 from industrial clusters where ship transport is the primary or earliest available export option. The project will also examine opportunities for industrial clusters in Germany, Belgium, Scandinavia and northern France, the companies said.

It would provide access to CO₂ subsurface storage sites offshore the Netherlands and Norway. NoordKaap is supported by partners Groningen Seaport, KNCC, Vopak and Return Carbon. The partners plan to make the project operational in 2028.

“NoordKaap comprises an integrated partnership of all stakeholders in the value chain, from emitters to storage facility owners, to ensure close coordination of these proposals as part of the development of a successful decarbonization strategy,” said CapeOmega CEO Evy Glørstad. “NoordKaap would enable us to use our position and experience in pipeline, terminal, shipping and offshore licence ownership to support CCS and decarbonisation.”

Lex de Groot, managing director of Neptune Energy in the Netherlands, said that CO₂ storage is a crucial component for meeting the EU’s climate goals and for a well functioning CCS market. “Both emitters and storage providers need to be able to transport CO₂ safely, and we know access to pipelines will be limited for some, so we are focusing on both types of transport to offshore storage facilities: piping and shipping. CCS also supports Neptune’s strategy to store more carbon than is emitted from our operations and from the oil and gas products we sell by 2030,” he said.

“As RWE, we are currently assessing the possibility to ship and store green CO₂ from our biomass Eemshaven plant to offshore storage in the Dutch North Sea, resulting in negative emissions. Our ambition is to make this happen in 2030. That is why the NoordKaap project is such an interesting opportunity for us,” said Roger Miesen, CEO RWE Generation.

Norway’s CapeOmega is an energy infrastructure company supporting the European energy transition. Neptune is an international independent exploration and production company, with a regional focus on the North Sea, North Africa and Asia Pacific.