Horisont, Equinor, Var team for Norwegian CO2 storage plan
Norwegian companies Equinor, Var Energi and Horisont Energi have agreed to work together in realising the Polaris carbon transport and storage project, the latter company announced on December 10.
Polaris, off Norway's north coast, is set to store in total as much as 100mn metric tons of CO2, equivalent to twice Norway's annual greenhouse gas emissions. It serves as a sub-project of Horisont's Barents Blue initiative in Finnmark, designed to be Europe's first large-scale carbon neutral ammonia plant. Polaris will handle the CO2 that is released when the ammonia is produced from natural gas.
Horisont has been working since last year on the Barents Blue plan, which envisages the production of 3,000 metric tons of ammonia daily from gas in the Barents South region. This ammonia can serve as a carrier of hydrogen, for eventual use in power generation, energy-intensive industry and as a fuel for transport. Horisont is targeting a final investment decision on both Barents Blue and Polaris next year.
Horisont signed letters of intent with several European companies on CO2 storage at Polaris in June, and it is looking to hire Baker Hughes to provide services for the project.