CO2 storage
TotalEnergies has been awarded two licenses to explore CO2 storage potential in the Danish North Sea. The licenses are located 250 kilometers off the west coast of Denmark and cover an area of 2,118 km2. The acreage includes the Harald gas fields, currently operated by TotalEnergies, as well as a saline aquifer area named Dagny. Alongside state-owned Nordsøfonden (20%), TotalEnergies (80%) will be the future operator of these offshore CO2 storage licenses.
Storage potential
In its first phase, Project Bifrost plans to store a minimum of 5 million tons of CO2 per year starting from 2030, contributing to the EU’s climate neutrality goal by 2050. The project has the potential to grow to 10-15 million tons per year when connected to the main onshore and offshore CO2 pipeline backbones from North Europe. The project will utilize the geological storage potential of the Danish North Sea, including depleted oil and gas fields and saline aquifers offshore Denmark. Specifically, the Harald West and East depleted gas fields and the Dagny saline aquifer may be used as storage sites.
Harald depleted gas fields
The Harald gas fields, consisting of Harald West and Harald East, are situated on the far western edge of the Danish North Sea, approximately 260 km from the shore. Discovered in the 1980s, these two gas reservoirs have been in production since 1997 and are currently managed by TotalEnergies. The Harald West storage complex comprises sandstone, sealed by layers of shale and chalk at a depth of around 3,400 meters. Conversely, the Harald East storage site consists of chalk, sealed by thick layers of marl and mudstone at a depth of about 2,700 meters. Following the end of gas production, CO2 will be injected into the sites for secure storage below initial pressure levels. The reservoir’s seal, which has contained natural gas for millions of years, ensures safe and permanent CO2 storage.
Dagny saline aquifer
The Dagny saline aquifer structure in the vicinity of the Harald fields represents an opportunity to provide some of the storage capacity required for Bifrost and which has been assessed from preliminary studies. A saline aquifer is an underground rock formation containing salty water (brine) that is unsuitable for human consumption or agriculture and covered by an impermeable rock that allows the CO2 to be permanently contained. The depth must be sufficient (800 meters or more) to ensure that the CO2 is sufficiently compressed. These formations are found deep below the Earth’s surface and can store significant amounts of CO2 safely and securely.
Two awarded offshore licenses
In February 2023, TotalEnergies was awarded two licenses to explore CO2 storage potential in the Danish North Sea. The licenses are located 250 kilometers off the west coast of Denmark and cover an area of 2,118 km2. The acreage includes the Harald gas fields, currently operated by TotalEnergies, and the nearby Dagny saline aquifer. Alongside state-owned Nordsøfonden (20%), TotalEnergies (80%) will be the future operator of these offshore CO2 storage licenses.
