The Bifrost CCS partnership consists of the Danish Underground Consortium (TotalEnergies (43.2%), Noreco (36.8%) and Nordsøfonden (20%)) who produces 85% of the oil and 97% of the gas from the Danish North Sea; Ørsted who is owner of the pipelines connecting the DUC fields to shore, and The Technical University of Denmark who will be academic partner.
Bifrost partners welcome the support from the Danish authorities which will be a key enabler in maturing a CO2 transportation and storage concept in the Danish North Sea. This state support is a positive step towards developing CCS as a technology to reuse existing assets and reduce CO2 emissions for the Danish and European industries.
The scope of the EUDP application includes the development and selection of the CO2 transport and storage concept at the DUC Harald field in the Danish North Sea. The Bifrost storage will have an expected startup storage capacity of 3 million metric tons of CO2 per year (m/tpa).
It also includes a study to qualify the significant potential of utilizing additional DUC North Sea reservoirs as they become available post 2030, as well as the possibility to use the existing pipeline infrastructure connecting the DUC fields to Denmark. Reusing the pipeline infrastructure to Danish shore could be a first step to connect to a future European cost and climate efficient CO2 transportation system.
The EUDP programme is a key step to mature the CO2 transportation and storage concept towards a final investment decision (FID) if the outcomes of the program prove successful and based on further detailing of the Danish legal and commercial framework for CCS.
Martin Rune Pedersen, Country Chair for TotalEnergies Denmark, said;
“I am pleased that we will receive EUDP support from the Danish state to progress the development of Bifrost together with our partners. The project has potential to open a new chapter for TotalEnergies in our long history supporting Denmark’s energy transition with our North Sea activities. The significant storage capacity makes Bifrost an important CO2 transportation and storage solution for Danish and other European emitters.”
John Hulme, Chief Operating Officer in Noreco, said;
“As a partner in Project Bifrost we are pleased with the positive trajectory of the project, now receiving support from the authorities. The use of existing infrastructure for carbon capture and storage is a highly attractive alternative from both a climate and economic perspective when oil and gas production gradually cease, and Noreco will continue to work towards supporting Denmark’s climate ambitions,”
Birgitta Jacobsen, CEO, Nordsøfonden, said;
“The support from EUDP for the Bifrost project enables us to take the first step in creating significant CCS opportunities in Denmark. CCS projects such as Bifrost will be able to contribute to Denmark achieving its reduction target of 70 % in 2030. CCS in Denmark will furthermore secure continued value creation for the Danish State for many years to come – also after 2050. We are looking forward to starting the maturation of the concept with our partners in the project.”
Johannes Sand Poulsen, Head of Infrastructure Assets, Ørsted, said;
“With the EUDP funding awarded we will now be able to begin the technical investigation of how we best reuse our existing pipeline infrastructure to ensure we establish the most cost-effective, sustainable, and scalable transportation of carbon in the future connecting the offshore infrastructure to the Danish West Coast.”
Morten Willaing Jeppesen, Managing Director, Centre for Oil and Gas, DTU, said;
“The funding from EUDP enables us to push forward with one of the most promising research activities in the energy transition. We will at DTU draw on our deep knowledge about the subsurface and work closely with the industrial partners to develop innovative technology solutions as well as provide socioeconomic insights to enable large scale CO2 storage in the North Sea.”
About the Bifrost Partners Contribution
- DUC consists of TotalEnergies (43.2%), Noreco (36.8%) and Nordsøfonden (20%). The DUC produces 85% of the oil and 97% of the gas from the Danish North Sea. As DUC operator, TotalEnergies will lead the CCS partnership and perform technical studies of the reuse of the Harald field infrastructure for CO2 storage as well as CO2 transportation by ship.
- Ørsted owns the pipeline infrastructure connecting the DUC offshore fields and installations to shore. Ørsted will conduct technical studies for repurposing of the existing pipeline infrastructure to CO2 transportation.
- DTU – The Technical University of Denmark will be academic partner delivering technical studies. This implies laboratory testing and numerical simulations and socioeconomic studies exploring sector integration, the positive impacts of innovation, export opportunities, and job creation from a new CCS industry.