Orlen and Equinor to collaborate on CCS technologies

Under the agreement, Orlen and Equinor will identify potential CO2 storage sites, considering both onshore locations and the Polish sector of the Baltic Sea. In the next phase, the partners will analyze the feasibility of joint projects based on the identified storage sites within the country.

– The collaboration with Equinor marks a milestone in achieving Orlen Group’s strategic goals. We are joining forces with an experienced and motivated partner to develop unique know-how in CCS technologies. Leveraging these competencies, we aim to establish a new, forward-looking business sector that will strengthen Orlen Group’s decarbonization potential. At the same time, this initiative will stimulate the development of an entire ecosystem of companies that, through cooperation with Orlen, will grow, create value, and generate new jobs. This is how we fulfill our role as a leader in energy transition, emphasized Wiesław Prugar, Orlen Management Board Member for Upstream.

– Today, Orlen and Equinor are entering a new phase of cooperation, building on a strong foundation of their existing energy partnership. Both companies are determined to ensure energy security for their customers while implementing low-emission solutions and expanding renewable energy. The agreement signed today paves the way for joint efforts to explore CO2 storage opportunities in Poland. By working together, Equinor and Orlen will complement each other’s expertise to effectively achieve their objectives, stated Irene Rummelhoff, Executive Vice President for Marketing, Midstream, and Processing at Equinor.

Orlen’s new strategy includes achieving a carbon capture, transport, and storage capacity of 4 million tons of CO2 annually by 2035. A portion of this capacity will be utilized for decarbonizing Orlen Group’s operations, including its petrochemical and refining assets. The remaining capacity will be offered as a service to other companies.

Equinor is one of Europe’s most experienced companies in CO2 storage. Since 1996, the company has been storing CO2 in the Sleipner field structures. Currently, Equinor is engaged in several large-scale CCS projects across Northwest Europe and the United States. The company is also a stakeholder in Northern Lights, the first cross-border CCS project offering CO2 storage as a service.

In September 2024, a CO2 transshipment terminal was commissioned, and the first customers are expected to deliver CO2 by mid-2025. In its initial phase, Northern Lights will offer the capacity to inject 1.5 million tons of CO2 annually. Furthermore, Equinor holds multiple CO2 storage licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, as well as in Denmark, the UK, and the US. Last year, in partnership with TotalEnergies and BP, the company secured a final investment decision (FID) for the Northern Endurance Partnership—a CO2 transport and storage solution—and Net Zero Teesside, a gas-fired power plant equipped with post-combustion carbon capture.

Orlen’s CCS plans and its collaboration with the Norwegian partner align with the company’s ambitious decarbonization objectives and the latest European regulations. In June 2024, the EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) came into effect, aiming to enhance the competitiveness of European companies in low-emission technologies and improve access to such technologies. NZIA sets specific CCS capacity targets, requiring the EU to establish the capability to store 50 million tons of CO2 annually by 2030. This obligation falls on companies engaged in natural gas and oil extraction within the EU, including Orlen.

According to NZIA, CCS is expected to enable decarbonization in industries where significant CO2 emission reductions are technologically challenging, such as cement production, metallurgy, and the chemical industry. For these sectors, capturing CO2 and transporting it to designated storage sites for deep geological sequestration will be essential to continuing operations within the EU despite increasingly stringent CO2 reduction targets.

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