Neptune Energy, Rosewood Exploration Ltd, EBN Capital BV, and ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Netherlands Ltd last week, announced signing a cooperation agreement to progress L10 large-scale offshore carbon capture and storage project in the Dutch North Sea.

Industrial customers in the Dutch sector will now have a robust carbon storage thanks to the agreement, which will bring together necessary technical and commercial capabilities. The agreement intends to take the project to the concept select stage in 2022 and have the L10 project FEED-ready by the end of the year, followed by a storage license application.

According to the announcements, Industrial emitters from different sectors are continuing with exploratory discussion ahead of the forthcoming round of applications for SDE++ funding from Dutch Authorities.

“CCS is crucial for achieving the Dutch climate goals for 2030. This Cooperation Agreement is a significant step in the development of the Neptune-operated L10 project, which supports our strategy to go beyond net-zero and store more carbon than is emitted from our operations, scope 1, and sold products, scope 3, by 2030,” said Lex de Groot, Neptune’s Managing Director in the Netherlands.

The New Project to Use Existing Infrastructure

Groot added that Neptune could combine its knowledge in the CCS field with other parties after completing a feasibility study. He said the next step would enable the companies to jointly develop one of North Sea’s largest CCS facilities.

He noted that by reusing the existing infrastructure, the partnership could help achieve the climate goals and ensure the energy transition became cleaner, cheaper, and faster.

On his part, Berte Simons, EBN’s Program Manager CCUS, said they were pleased to work with partners in the carbon capture and storage project where existing infrastructure could be reused.

“With our subsurface knowledge and experience in storage, we’ll be able to contribute extensively to the development of this project. The offshore storage of CO2 is pivotal in meeting climate goals, and EBN is determined to contribute to a carbon-neutral energy system,” said Simons.

Dan Ammann, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions’ president, welcomed the opportunity for ExxonMobil to collaborate and support the L10 carbon capture and storage project. He said carbon capture and storage was a proven, ready-to-deploy technology that could help reduce emissions from some large industrial emitters and promote society’s net-zero goals.

This L10 carbon capture and storage stage can store 4-5 million tons of CO2 annually for industrial customers in the exhausted gas fields around Neptune-operated L10-A, B, and E areas. It is the first step in the possible development of the greater L10 area as a CO2 reservoir.