CCS partnership at Germany’s northern border
In Denmark, we are engaged to build the CCS infrastructure for industrial emissions from Europe: with Project Greensand, as a storage site for CO2 emissions, and Greenport Scandinavia, a CO2 hub.
In addition to being neighbours, Germany and Denmark are also strong partners. The two governments will be cooperating in efforts to promote and develop environmentally sound ways to import CO2 from Germany to Denmark so that it can be stored in Danish territory.
Wintershall Dea likewise has close partnerships with Denmark. For decades, Wintershall Dea extracted hydrocarbons in Denmark to provide affordable energy to Danish consumers, and now it will be harnessing its expertise to help mitigate climate change, abate GHG emissions and store carbons back below ground.
Up to
190 bn
Tonnes of CO2 are estimated to be stored in the North Sea.
Up to
50
years could the EU store its entire emissions.
Up to
260
years could Germany store its entire emissions.
Greensand – capturing and storing CO2
As a leading member of the Greensand consortium, Wintershall Dea is involved in one of the most advanced carbon capture and storage projects in Europe. In March 2023, together with our partner INEOS, we stored the first quantities of CO2. The CO2 comes from a Belgian emitter and is now safely stored under the seabed. This is only possible because the Belgian and Danish governments signed a bilateral agreement for cross-border CO2 transport in 2022.
The project Greensand is one of the first cross-border CCS projects in the EU to store captured CO2 from an industrial emitter. Project Greensand aims to make an important contribution to mitigating climate change in the future.
The depleted Nini West oil field in the Danish North Sea will serve as a reservoir. Here, Project Greensand aims to store up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year beginning in 2026 and up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030 - or more than 13 percent of Denmark’s entire annual emissions. Eventually the project aims to cover the entire geological structure of the Siri Fairway.
The project is backed by Wintershall Dea, INEOS Energy, Maersk Drilling and 20 other partners ranging from start-ups to universities. In addition the Danish government is supplying € 26 million in support, which reflects the project’s promise: for Denmark, for the advancement of CCS, and for progress towards net zero. Project Greensand is implemented to mitigate climate change.
The CO2 will be injected about 2,000 metres below the sea bed underneath a thick layer of cap rock, which will prevent the CO2 from rising to the surface. Wintershall Dea will benefit from the subsurface, petrotechnical and engineering knowledge that it has accumulated over more than a century in the E&P industry. And since Wintershall Dea has many years of experience in oil production from the Nini West oil reservoir, it will also bring in-depth knowledge of the relevant reservoirs and their characteristics to the project.
To get the first injection started, Wintershall Dea made important contributions by proving the feasibility of storing carbon in the deep-lying rocks as well as determining the available capacity. What's more, Wintershall Dea has formulated and implemented a monitoring concept to ensure the safety of the storage location.
Greenport Scandinavia – part of the CCS value chain
Wintershall Dea is expanding its activities related to the long-term and safe underground storage of CO2 in Denmark. The company has joined a consortium whose members have signed an agreement to jointly mature and pursue the “Greenport Scandinavia” project. The companies intend to establish a CO2 hub near Hirtshals on the Danish North Sea coast. Among other things, the hub is to be connected to the value chain of the CCS-focused Project Greensand, in which Wintershall Dea is a key player.
Greenport Scandinavia is meant to serve as a collection point for CO2 generated during the production of biogas in regional plants. It will then be transported by ship to Project Greensand to be permanently and safely stored. Approximately 1.5 million tonnes of CO2, some of which will come from countries along the Baltic Sea, are to be sequestered each year in this way. Using biogas will result in negative emissions, which can make a significant contribution to achieving Denmark’s climate policy goals.
