# Oil trio’s Northern Lights in Yara CO2 emissions storage deal Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2022-08-29 Category: NEWS Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news Meta Title: Northern Lights and Yara Sign CO2 Storage Deal in Europe Meta Description: Commercial breakthrough in cross-border CO2 transport and storage, paving the way for similar projects in Europe. Shell, TotalEnergies, and Equinor leading the URL: https://financedigest.com/oil-trios-northern-lights-in-yara-co2-emissions-storage-dealhtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2022-08-29t103124z3lynxmpei7s04jrtroptp4norway-gas-equinor-1736815346234-compressed.jpg) By Nerijus Adomaitis and Nora Buli STAVANGER, Norway (Reuters) -Norwegian carbon dioxide (CO2) storage company Northern Lights and its owners have agreed to store emissions captured at fertiliser-maker Yara’s Dutch operation from 2025 in what they say is a commercial breakthrough for the business. The joint venture founded by oil firms Equinor, TotalEnergies and Shell plans to inject CO2 from industrial plants into rock formations beneath the North Sea ocean floor. The [deal is the first commercial agreement Northern Lights has signed](https://www.financedigest.com/italys-nexi-signs-digital-payments-deal-with-tims-olivetti.html "Italy’s Nexi signs digital payments deal with TIM’s Olivetti") and the first commercial agreement on cross-border CO2 transport and storage signed anywhere in the world. Under the deal, 800,000 tonnes of CO2 per [year will be transported on ships](https://www.financedigest.com/ferry-industry-celebrates-fifth-successive-year-of-growth-for-car-travel-by-sea-and-four-new-ships-launching-in-next-twelve-months.html "Ferry industry celebrates fifth successive year of growth for car travel by sea And four new ships launching in next twelve months") from the Netherlands from early 2025. By comparison, Norway emits about 50 [million tonnes](https://www.financedigest.com/revealed-1-45-million-tonnes-of-e-waste-is-produced-by-households-businesses-per-annum.html "Revealed: 1.45 million tonnes of e-waste is produced by households & businesses per annum") of greenhouses gases per year. “We are proving that this actually works,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden told a news conference. The fact that it can is a [major breakthrough because this is now a pathfinder project](https://www.financedigest.com/britain-delays-major-rail-project-hs2-as-costs-soar-again.html "Britain delays major rail project HS2 as costs soar again") for similar projects in Europe. The parties did not disclose financial details of the deal, but TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said it was “profitable”, citing increased prices for [CO2 emissions](https://www.financedigest.com/global-energy-related-co2-emissions-edged-up-to-record-high-in-2022-iea.html "Global energy-related CO2 emissions edged up to record high in 2022 – IEA") allowances in Europe. “The price signal has moved high very quickly compared to 2020. In 2020, when we launched the (Northern Lights) project, CO2 was around 30-40 euros per tonne, today it’s (near) 100 euros per tonne,” Pouyanne told Reuters. So at this level we can [invest in these projects](https://www.financedigest.com/sse-to-invest-122-million-in-scottish-pumped-hydro-project.html "SSE to invest 2 million in Scottish pumped hydro project") and allocate capital because we get an acceptable return. MORE CAPACITY Northern Lights also has preliminary deals to store CO2 from a cement plant and a waste plant that, if confirmed, will fill the [project’s phase 1 capacity of 1.5 million](https://www.financedigest.com/amazon-grants-1-5-million-euros-to-dutch-seaweed-farm-project.html "Amazon grants 1.5 million euros to Dutch seaweed farm project") tonnes per year. Following the Yara deal the partnership will now work on [expansion of its storage capacity to between 5 million](https://www.financedigest.com/ride-hailing-app-cabify-raises-110-million-for-expansion-in-latam-spain.html "Ride-hailing app Cabify raises 0 million for expansion in LatAm, Spain") and 6 million tonnes of CO2 per year, Equinor said. The International Energy Agency says carbon capture and storage (CCS) is vital to [reducing global CO2 emissions](https://www.financedigest.com/seenthis-launches-creative-platform-to-boost-performance-and-reduce-co2-emissions-in-digital-advertising.html "SeenThis launches Creative Platform to boost performance and reduce CO2 emissions in digital advertising"), including from hard-to-abate sectors such as cement production, to curb global warming. However, there are few commercial projects in existence. Norway tried a decade ago to create a carbon capture project at a gas [power plant](https://www.financedigest.com/edpr-brings-iberias-first-wind-solar-power-plant-on-stream.html "EDPR brings Iberia’s first wind-solar power plant on-stream") in a plan once touted as the oil-producing country’s “moon landing”, but it failed because of cost issues. In addition, some environmentalists [says that CCS merely serves to prolong the age of burning carbon for energy and that the world](https://www.financedigest.com/exclusive-qatarenergy-boss-says-world-cup-tension-will-not-impact-german-business.html "Exclusive-QatarEnergy boss says World Cup tension will not impact German business") needs a more decisive shift to renewables. Yara, one of the world’s largest fertiliser manufacturers, uses natural gas in its [production processes](https://www.financedigest.com/how-process-automation-increases-productivity-in-the-insurance-sector-while-giving-employees-room-for-more-high-value-activity.html "How Process Automation increases productivity in the insurance sector while giving employees room for more high value activity") and has long sought solutions to cutting the resulting emissions. (Editing by Terje Solsvik, Gwladys Fouche and David Goodman) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---