Denmark postpones second tender for offshore CO2 storage licenses

The Danish Energy Agency has postponed the second tender round for the award of offshore CO2 storage licenses in the North Sea.

The tender was set to open on 15 August according to the executive order on CO2 storage license tenders.

In line with the Agreement on the framework for CO2 storage in Denmark of 21 June 2022, the decision was supposed to be made on whether the state participation share of future licenses should be set higher after the first tender round in the North Sea.

As a result, the second tender round of offshore licenses is postponed until the matter has been settled. This does not affect current licenses or the upcoming onshore tender round.

The Danish Energy Agency expects that a new starting date for the tender round will be set later this year.

Tenders for offshore licenses for exploration and use of the subsoil for the geological storage of CO2 are held annually according to the executive order on CO2 storage license tenders. The first tender round was opened on 15 August 2022 with a deadline for applications on 1 October in the same year. In this round, three licenses were awarded.

The Danish Energy Agency granted the first-ever permit for a CO2 storage project in Denmark at the end of 2022 to INEOS E&P and Wintershall Dea for the Greensand Pilot Injection Project. In February, the partners received the first full-scale CO2 storage permit for the Danish North Sea.

On 8 March, INEOS and Wintershall Dea marked a major milestone and a world first with the first-ever injection of CO2 in the North Sea as part of Project Greensand.