Equinor ASA EQNR has been awarded licenses by the Norway Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to operate two carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage sites in the North and Barents Seas.

The two licenses, known as Smeaheia and Polaris, are crucial components for developing the Norwegian Continental Shelf (“NCS”) as a major site for deploying carbon capture and storage (“CCS”).

In December 2021, the Norway government received applications from Equinor and other companies regarding two areas on the NCS to be allocated for CO₂ storage.

Equinor submitted plans to develop Smeaheia to provide 20 million tons of CO₂ storage capacity per year. This suggests a significant increase on a commercial basis on the NCS. Notably, the rapid growth in CO₂ storage at Smeaheia is necessary to ensure storage requirements from low-carbon projects in Norway.

Then again, Polaris CCS is situated in the Barents Sea. It is a crucial component of the Barents Blue project, which Equinor is developing to produce blue ammonia from North Sea natural gas. The first phase of Polaris development involves capturing and storing about 2 million metric tons per year of CO₂.

CO₂ capture and storage enable the development of blue hydrogen and ammonia. With CCS, blue hydrogen and ammonia can remove emissions from natural gas use, granting access to large amounts of low-carbon energy. Emissions can also be significantly reduced from gas-fired power plants by using CCS.

Equinor aims to develop value chains for CO₂ transport and storage, with an annual capacity of 15-30 million tons of CO₂ by 2035. With the projects, the company intends to reduce CO₂ emissions equivalent to 50% of Norway’s annual emissions.

Equinor intends to develop additional storage licenses in the North Sea in the coming years. It aims to build a common, pipeline-based infrastructure, which can significantly reduce costs for the CCS value chains.

Company Profile & Price Performance

Headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, Equinor is one of the leading integrated energy companies in the world.

Shares of EQNR have outperformed the industry in the past six months. The stock has gained 45.1% compared with the industry’s 28.8% growth.

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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Equinor currently carries a Zack Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors interested in the energy sector might look at the following companies that presently flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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