Today, in the presence of HM King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and HM King Frederik of Denmark INEOS and Royal Wagenborg have signed a landmark agreement on the delivery of CO2 transportation.
This multi-year agreement, a significant step towards advancing carbon capture and storage (CCS) within the European Union, will see Royal Wagenborg supply a newly built CO₂ carrier dedicated to Project Greensand, led by INEOS with its partners Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden.
Project Greensand has already marked a world-first achievement by demonstrating the safe, cross-border transport of CO₂ for injection into a depleted oil field. In March 2023, in a historic demonstration of climate action, HM King Frederik of Denmark authorized the first injection of CO₂ into Danish subsoil in the North Sea, marking a crucial advancement for sustainable carbon management in the region.
The agreement with Royal Wagenborg marks the first deployment of a dedicated CO₂ vessel for Project Greensand, a crucial component in establishing a full CO₂ capture, transport, and storage value chain. This purpose-built CO₂ carrier, designed to meet the highest standards of safety and efficiency, will facilitate large-scale transport of CO₂ to the Greensand storage site in the Danish North Sea.
David Bucknall, CEO INEOS Energy said: “The lack of dedicated CO₂ carriers has been a bottleneck for advancing CCS projects within Europe. The collaboration between INEOS and Royal Wagenborg serves as a breakthrough moment for the EU’s climate goals, offering a viable solution for large-scale CO₂ transport. The agreement highlights the commitment of INEOS, Royal Wagenborg, and the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark to achieving a sustainable and low-carbon future.”
Mads Weng Gade, Head of INEOS Energy DK said: “INEOS has been in the leading edge of demonstrating safe and efficient storage in the pilot phase of Project Greensand, and we have the ambition to establish the first CO₂ storage within the EU in Greensand by 2026. The agreement between Royal Wagenborg and INEOS is a very important step towards the establishment of the full value chain of CCS on an industrial scale.”
About INEOS
INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products. In 25 years, the Company has grown into a global player: its production network spans 183 sites in 26 countries throughout the world employing more than 26,000 people.
INEOS Energy operates the Siri field area and the South Arne and the Solsort in Denmark. INEOS operates the leading carbon storage project in Denmark – Project Greensand – which is a pioneering carbon capture and storage CCS) initiative aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by capturing CO2 and securely storing it in depleted oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
The pilot phase of Project Greensand conducted in 2023 focused on demonstrating the feasibility and safety of cross-border CO2 transport and storage. On March 8 2023, HM King Frederik of Denmark gave the order to store the first CO2 in the Danish subsoil. The pilot phase of Project Greensand validated that CO2 could be stored safely and efficiently.
Based on the learnings and proven scalable concept from the pilot phase and the independent verification of safe storage by the worldleading independent verifier DNV, INEOS has already applied for approval on behalf of licence partners Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden for Denmark's first large-scale CO2 storage facility and is now working hard to start CO2 storage in the North Sea by the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026. The ambition is that up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2 will be stored per year, while the plan is to store up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year in the area under the North Sea's seabed from 2030.
At the same time, work is also underway to investigate whether it is possible and safe to store CO2 underground on land in Denmark, and earlier this year, the Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities awarded INEOS, Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden an exploration licence for an area of the Danish subsurface in Jutland in the Gassum reservoir. The experience from Greensand will be included in the work to demonstrate safe storage also on land.
INEOS is involved in several CCS-projects in Denmark with the aim of establishing offloading of CO2 to Greensand from the Danish harbours Esbjerg and Hirtshals (Greenport Scandinavia).