The Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark officially initiated a world first with the safe injection of carbon dioxide from Belgium into a depleted oil field in the Danish North Sea.

Project Greensand, shows for the first time the feasibility of CO2 storage from being captured at an INEOS Oxide site in Belgium, to being transported cross-border and finally safely and permanently stored in the INEOS-operated Nini field in the Danish North Sea.

Ursula von der Leyen, President, European Commission said, “This is a big moment for Europe’s green transition, and for our clean tech industry. The first ever full value chain, for carbon capture and storage in Europe. You are showing that it can be done. 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. This is what Europe’s competitive sustainability is all about.”

The First Carbon Storage event to celebrate the achievement was held in Esbjerg, Denmark and hosted by INEOS and Wintershall Dea, lead partners in the Project Greensand consortium.

By 2030, Project Greensand aims to store up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year in this area while continuing to make significant contributions to our understanding and growth of carbon storage technology.

The European Commission estimates that the EU will need to store up to 300 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2050 to meet its climate goals.

Project Greensand is a consortium of 23 organisations with expertise in Carbon Capture and Storage, including business, academia, government and start-ups. It is supported by the Danish state through the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP). CCS is considered a key technology in reaching the Danish 2045 net zero target.

Lars Aagaard, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities said, “The Danish subsoil can store a lot more carbon than we ever will capture in Denmark. Therefore, I am extremely pleased that the whole perspective on the Danish subsoil from day one is based on an industrial thinking where these resources should be brought to the market and help other countries meet their climate targets on a commercial basis.”

The CO2 injected into the Nini field is stored at a depth of about 1,800 metres below the seabed and will be closely monitored.

Hugo Dijkgraaf said, "INEOS and Wintershall Dea are leveraging two decades of experience from oil production in the Nini West field and have extensive knowledge of the reservoirs being used.” 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe commented, “This important milestone firmly demonstrates that CCS is a technology that can deliver on a global scale. The task at hand for the industry and policymakers is now to support the continued development and deployment of CCS as an essential tool to mitigate climate change.”