Norwegian energy giant Equinor has been under fire after an investigation found a huge gap between its public claims of CO2 storage and the actual figures. The company had claimed that its Sleipner facility captured about one million metric tons of CO2 annually. However, official figures from the Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA) show that the actual amount stored at the site in 2023 was only 106,000 tons.
According to reports from DeSmog, the claim by Equinor about capturing one million tons of CO2 per annum was higher than the actual figures. DeSmog investigation in 2023 showed that Sleipner stored only 106,000 tons of CO2. The incorrect information on Equinor’s website led it to remove them. Equinor attributed this error to the outdated webpage that had caused this error.
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Sleipner’s Role in Carbon Capture and Storage
Sleipner, located in the North Sea, has been operational since 1996. The facility separates CO2 from natural gas during purification and injects it beneath the seabed for permanent storage. Despite the challenges, such as cost overruns and missed targets, the project has been frequently cited as an example of the potential of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to fight climate change.
Challenges Faced by Sleipner and Equinor
While the Sleipner project has demonstrated CCS technology, it has also faced challenges throughout its history. These include cost overruns and not meeting the initial storage targets. Despite these challenges, Equinor is positioning itself as a leader in Europe’s growing CCS sector, which is seen as essential for meeting climate goals.
Equinor’s Strategic Positioning in CCS
Equinor aims to become a major player in the European Union’s ambitious plan to expand CCS capacity. Although Norway is not part of the EU, the country hosts most of Europe’s operational CCS capacity. This capacity is primarily due to two key projects: Sleipner and Snøhvit. Located in the North Sea and Barents Sea, these projects have been at the forefront of CCS development in Europe.
Data on CO2 Storage at Sleipner and Snøhvit
In 2023, Sleipner and Snøhvit had a collective storage capacity for 1.7 million tons of CO2. However , the two facilities were made for only 763,000 tons of CO2, less than half the possible capacity. This adds on to the wide gap between declared and achieved stored quantities.
Equinor claimed to capture one million tons of CO2 per year at Sleipner. This was not correct, and the company corrected the figure, removing the misleading information from its website. Despite such issues, Sleipner and Snøhvit projects form the core of Equinor’s efforts to increase CCS capacity in Europe. As the energy sector moves toward cleaner solutions, transparency in CO2 storage figures will be crucial for the effectiveness of CCS technologies.