OSLO (Reuters) - PGNiG Upstream Norway, part of Poland's ORLEN Group, will join and operate the Polaris carbon storage project in the Norwegian Barents Sea, owned by Horisont Energi, the companies said on Tuesday.
The two groups have signed a letter of intent which will see the ORLEN subsidiary become operator and acquire a stake of up to 50% in the Polaris licence, they said in a statement
The process of bringing the new partner on board is expected to be completed by early December, they added.
The Polaris project would mark ORLEN's first intended CO2 storage licence anywhere, which it hopes can help decarbonise industry exposed to high emission costs, CEO Daniel Obajtek said in the statement.
"Cement, steel and fertilizers producers, if they want to continue operating in Poland, or more broadly in the European Union, must find a way to manage carbon dioxide emissions," he added.
The agreement is in line with ORLEN's 2030 goal of storing or utilising up to 3 million tonnes of CO2 annually, the company said, adding first carbon injections at Polaris could start in late 2028 or early 2029.
The Polaris project was granted a storage licence by Norwegian authorities in June 2022 and is still in an early development phase.
According to Horisont Energi, it has the potential to store 100 million tonnes of CO2, including emissions from the Barents Blue ammonia plant the company plans to build in northern Norway.
Horisont Energi is also cooperating with German energy firm E.On, which last year acquired a 25% stake in the Norwegian company and plans to store 1 million tonnes of CO2 at Polaris.