New tool finds the best fields for CO₂-storage

Norwegian petroleum fields have securely contained hydrocarbons for many thousands of years. When the production of petroleum stops, these fields may become ideal candidates for CO2 storage.

– Petroleum reservoirs can be great for storage, because they have proven geological integrity, they are often close to existing infrastructure, many of them are to be shut down soon, and they have large potential storage capacity, says Trine Mykkeltvedt.

However, some fields are better suited for CO2 storage than others, depending on a number of factors.

Alexey Khrulenko has together with researchers Trine Mykkeltvedt and Sarah Gasda from the research-centre CSSR (Centre for Sustainable Subsurface Resources) developed a tool that screens potential storage sites, compare them to each other, and presents the best option based on their preferences.

The tool is made based on data made available by the Norwegian Offshore Directorate.

Explore the tool here.

The screening tool estimates a fields suitability for CO2 storage, which is based on the indicators described above and selected and prioritized by the user giving a total score for fields in question.

In addition to these indicators, the user can choose different factors they want to include.

The Northern Lights project is the first full value-chain CCS project in Norway, where CO2 is captured at the Heidelberg Cement Plant in Brevik, and transported by ship to Øygarden outside Bergen. From Øygarden the CO2 is injected in the Aurora field on the Horda platform, with many petroleum fields in immediate proximity.

For example, the screening tool can evaluate and rank selected fields in this area as potential fields for CO2 storage.

– The user can define what is most important for them, and the tool will take their priorities into consideration, says Mykkeltvedt.

The tool looks at 134 petroleum fields, and the open data that exists on these fields.

– Gas fields stand out in terms of both capacity and injectivity, and have great potential for storage, states Mykkeltvedt.

The history of CO₂ -storage on the NCS dates back almost 30 years. It started in 1996 connected to the Sleipner field. In 2008 CO₂ injection was commenced next to the Snøhvit field. CO₂ stored at Sleipner and Snøhvit was separated from the natural gas. In 2025, the Northern Light project started to inject captured CO₂ offshore, ca.100 km west from Bergen.

– Both Sleipner and Snøhvit will continue to store CO₂ going forward, in addition to many other CO₂ storage licenses in saline aquifers. If their potential is realised, we can have 1-2 gigatonnes of CO₂ stored on the NCS in 2050.

All 134 petroleum fields on the NCS – shut down, producing or approved – can potentially accommodate approximately 18 Gigatonnes of CO₂.

The screening tool estimates a fields suitability for CO2 storage, which is based on a few parameters (“indicators”) selected and prioritized by the user. The indicators include storage capacity, injectivity and maturity.