ORLEN, an energy company, has signed a strategic partnership with Norway’s Equinor, Europe’s biggest energy producer, to develop and explore opportunities within Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) technology in Poland. The partnership will minimize CO2 emissions and enable industrial decarbonization in Poland.
Partnership to Find CO2 Storage Sites in Poland
Under the partnership, ORLEN and Equinor will identify potential CO2 storage locations within Poland, including land and the Baltic Sea. Following this is studying CCS project feasibility, with priority on effective solutions to enable carbon emission reduction from Poland’s industry.
Wiesław Prugar, a member of ORLEN’s Management Board, said, “Our collaboration with Equinor marks a major milestone in advancing the ORLEN Group’s strategic goals. We are joining forces with an experienced and driven partner to develop unique know-how in the CCS technology.”
He added, “Building on this knowledge, we aim to establish a new, forward-looking business area that will boost our decarbonisation potential. At the same time, the initiative has the potential to serve as a catalyst giving rise to an entire ecosystem of businesses that could grow, create value, and generate new jobs. This is how we fulfil our role as the energy transition leader.”
Equinor’s Experience in Large-Scale CCS Initiatives
Equinor has over three decades of experience with CCS after becoming the globe’s first CO2 storage project in the offshore Sleipner field in 1996. Equinor is a CCS global leader and is currently under development with numerous large-scale ventures in North-West Europe and in the US.
Prominent projects include Northern Lights, the world’s first cross-border CCS project offering CO2 storage as a service, and Northern Endurance Partnership, focused on CO2 transportation and storage. Equinor, therefore, is an esteemed partner in assisting ORLEN in its decarbonization strategy.
As part of its strategy, ORLEN plans to achieve a yearly capacity of storing 4 million tons of CO2 by 2035. A portion of this capacity will be held back for ORLEN’s net-zero strategy, in particular for its refining and petrochemical business. The remaining capacity will be made available as a service to other sectors, enabling broader decarbonization.
Also read: Equinor Faces Backlash Over Discrepancy in Sleipner CO2 Storage Claims
Supporting European Decarbonization Efforts
This partnership aligns with EU’s ambitious decarbonization goals, especially the arrival of the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) as of June 2024. The NZIA requires the EU to have 50 million tons of annual CO2 injection capacity by 2030. The policy gives clear targets for oil and gas producers such as ORLEN to support the growth of CCS and guarantee emission targets.
The NZIA points to CCS as an essential remedy for hard-to-abate CO2-emitting industries like cement, steel, and chemicals. Through capturing the CO2, transporting it to storage locations, and injecting it into deep geological structures, these industries can keep operations running in the EU while achieving carbon cutting goals.
