INEOS has helped to prove to the world that CO2 can be safely captured, transported and injected into retired oil and gas wells under the seabed. On March 8th 2023 it achieved the world’s first cross border off-shore CO2 storage initiative intended to mitigate climate change. The successful trial saw CO2, captured from INEOS Oxide’s plant in Belgium and shipped 500 miles by Danish Shipping to INEOS’ Nini offshore oil platform in the Danish North Sea.

There, the liquefied gas was injected into the retired oil reservoir 2km under the seabed.

The INEOS-led Project Greensand was hailed as a big moment for Europe’s transition to a greener economy and the world’s understanding of carbon capture and storage.

“You have shown that it can be done,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission in recognition of the Greensand project and the first injection event in Denmark on March 8.

“You have shown that we can grow our industry through innovation and competition, and at the same time, remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere, through ingenuity and cooperation.”

There to witness the historic moment was Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik, Brian Gilvary, Executive Chairman of INEOS Energy, and Hugo Dijkgraaf, Chief Technology Officer at Wintershall Dea, which, along with INEOS, headed the consortium of 23 organisations involved in Project Greensand.

“This project proves that carbon capture and storage is a viable way to permanently store CO2 emissions under the North Sea,” said Hugo. Anne H. Steffensen, CEO of Danish Shipping, said failure was not an option.

“There is no way we could have failed on this,” she said.

And the reason is simple. For carbon capture and storage is seen as critically important to help decarbonise the world’s energy and tackle climate change.

The consortium of 23 partners is jointly led by INEOS.

Project Greensand, as it is known due to the type of sandstone under the seabed, is the first time that the full value chain has been tested – and it is being done purely to protect the environment.

“All the parts of the process had been developed and worked well in isolation,” said David Bucknall, CEO of INEOS Energy. “Connecting the parts and building the infrastructure was the challenge.”

The plan now – following the successful trial – is to start operating commercially in 2025.

Once fully operational, it should be able to store up to eight million tonnes of CO2 every year.

There is immense pride within the company at being involved in such a ground-breaking project.

Mads Weng Gade, CCO, Head of INEOS Energy Denmark, described it as a fantastic milestone in the fight against climate change.
“I have been looking forward to this day for a very long time,” he said. “We have all shown true, pioneering spirit and worked hard to achieve this.”

Many critics have argued that carbon capture and storage is unscalable, expensive and energy-intensive.

But David, a former BP executive, said the project was based on proven technologies.

“The pilot and development phases are about making them work together effectively,” he said.

In December, the INEOS-led project received £22 million from the Danish government – the largest single grant ever awarded in Denmark.

“Denmark has one of the most ambitious climate targets in the world and sees carbon capture and storage as one of the steps necessary to reach its goals,” said David. “This project will contribute significantly to Denmark's carbon reduction targets.”

The project will also secure highly-skilled jobs.

“It makes sense for the oil and gas industry to drive this new industry because they have many years of experience in this field,” said Mads.

“We will be using the same infrastructure, the same geology and the same people who have detailed knowledge of these reservoirs.”

Instead of dismantling oil rigs, they can be repurposed.

Instead of gas flowing out, the process will simply be reversed to allow  carbon dioxide to be injected into the wells.

INEOS’ long-term goal is to build a fleet of ships and CO2 storage facilities on land and a terminal so that the ships can dock, load the CO2 into containers and then sail out to the platform.

“We anticipate Greensand to be competitive commercially once a commercial market for CO2 is up and running,” said David.

Q+A

The world’s largest carbon capture facility in America closed down in 2020. Why will Project Greensand succeed?

The Petra Nova project in Texas had been designed to use captured CO2 from the coal-fired power plant, pipe it 82 miles overland and inject into the West Ranch oil field to boost oil production. But low oil prices – due to the COVID-19 pandemic – made it uneconomic.

Project Greensand is different. By Danish law, the captured carbon dioxide cannot be used to produce more oil or gas. It is a pure climate project. It is not tied to oil and gas production. We have a completely different set of drivers.

Greensand, which will become a complete CO2 storage hub from the mid-20s, will use proven technology and build on the experience from operating and producing the depleted oil and gas fields.

CO2 storage offshore is already happening in the North Sea and several carbon capture and storage projects in Europe are looking to the Greensand project for answers.

Why does government backing matter so much?

Denmark’s decision to award £22 million to the INEOS-led Greensand project is incredibly important. We cannot do this kind of thing on our own, but with government support, projects like this are more likely to succeed.

Governments can create the right tax and incentive structure, they can ensure the investment is viable, sustainable and can be scaled to the size needed to make a difference.

We rely on the politicians because somebody needs to sign off the fact that this is going to be good for the environment and good for society at large.

Why store CO2 rather than reduce emissions?

We need to do both. Installing photovoltaic systems, building offshore wind farms, and replacing petrol and diesel cars with electric cars are all steps in the right direction, but they are not enough. CO2 must be removed from the known emission sources, if possible, and stored in the subsoil if we are to solve the climate crisis.

How will you prevent the stored carbon from leaking into the atmosphere?

The oil and gas has been in the reservoirs targeted by the Greensand project for millions of years without leaking. The CO2 will be stored in the subsoil about 2 km below the seabed with a very thick layer of impermeable shale rock above acting as a permanent seal. Pressure of the gas will be closely monitored as will the seabed.

Could injecting CO2 into wells cause earthquakes?

We have produced and injected water in the reservoir for many years and know the limitations of the reservoir very well. The CO2 will be stored under the same pressure, and continuously monitored to ensure it is safely stored.