First Wells Completed For Northern Lights Project

Northern Lights has concluded drilling operations for a CO2 injection well and a contingent injection well within its CO2 storage license EL001 in the North Sea.

According to the project operator, preliminary results confirm the storage capacity of at least 5 million tons CO2 per annum. 

The wells are in the North Sea approximately 45 miles west of Bergen, Norway, within the EL001 license that was awarded to Northern Lights in January 2019.

In 2020, Northern Lights drilled the first CO2 exploration well that confirmed that the reservoir in the Johansen formation at a depth of 8,500 feet depth is suitable for safe and permanent CO2 storage. 

Northern Lights said in a statement that it successfully concluded drilling operations that started in August 2022 with a CO2 injection well as a sidetrack to the initial exploration well. In addition, a new contingent CO2 injection well has been drilled. 

“We are pleased to announce that the preliminary results from the drilling operations have confirmed a reservoir storage capacity sufficient for phases 1 and 2 of the Northern Lights’ project, with at least 5 million tons CO2 per annum.”

“To utilize this capacity, we will need to drill additional injection wells. The completion of these first drilling operations is an important step in the right direction”, says Børre Jacobsen, Managing Director at Northern Lights.

The wells have been drilled with the rig Transocean Enabler, and according to Norwegian CO2 storage regulations. Operations were managed by Equinor on behalf of Northern Lights JV as operator. 

The Northern Lights JV won the first-ever CO2 injection and storage license offshore Norway. The second and third ones were awarded in April 2022. One was awarded to Equinor and is in the North Sea while the other is in the Barents Sea and was awarded to a group consisting of Equinor, Horisont Energi, and Vår Energi.

In October, Wintershall Dea Norge and CapeOmega were selected for the, so far, fourth and final exploration permit for CO2 storage in the North Sea.

It is worth noting that Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy recently called for applications for another area on the NCS that would be used for CO2 injection and storage. The area encompasses defined blocks in the North Sea.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com