Update on LINCCS: driving offshore infrastucture reuse and streamlining CO2 injection site verification

Carbon capture, use and storage (CCS) is an essential technology for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, especially in industries with hard-to-abate emissions. However, CCS deployment in Europe is progressing slowly, underscoring the need for cost efficient implementation solutions and collaboration. LINCCS—linking large-scale offshore CO2 storage with the carbon capture and storage (CCS) supply chain—is an industry-driven initiative.

LINCCS focuses on advancing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) through four technical sub-projects:

1. Compact, low-OPEX CO₂ capture offshore (SP1): developing conceptual designs for an offshore power hub
2. CCS on ship engines and logistics optimisation (SP2): testing carbon capture technology on ship engines while streamlining logistics
3. Expanding storage capacity on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) and reuse (SP3): enhancing CO₂ storage potential on the NCS and repurposing exisiting infrastructure
4. Cost-effective connection from capture to storage (SP4): streamlining the CCS value chain for seamless integration.

The project united 15 industry and research partners, including AGR, with financial support from three governmental organisations. The R&D progress was concluded between 2021-2024. Among its ambitious goals, LINCCS aims to achieve by 2030 a 70% reduction in storage costs and enable the storage of 100 million tonnes of CO₂.

Under the LINCCS partnership, our subsurface, reservoir engineering and geoscience consultants, provided decision support and advanced solutions, focusing on repurposing existing offshore assets and infrastructure for carbon storage (SP3). We also contributed to designing well injection and well control systems to enable cost-effective, scalable CO₂ storage (SP4).

Repurposing existing offshore installations, competencies and technologies for new, sustainable CCS business opportunities

As part of the Sustainable Reuse of Offshore Assets and Infrastructure subworking group, we delivered:

1. Data for the digital tool “Re-use Atlas” providing a screening tool for CO₂ storage on Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) providing a quick analysis of pore-space, legacy well integrity and facility to identify local potential for CO₂ storage. In this project we provided North Sea data, a pressure database, a core porosity/permeability database and a dataset of computer processed interpretation to be used for Machine Learning in the North Sea.
2. The Machine Learning project is designed to determine net-to-gross ratios on a large scale, facilitating pore volume calculations across polygons, blocks, and structural elements. This enables rapid estimation of storage potential. Additionally, the project contributed to calculations of top seal formation integrity and introduced a classification scheme for legacy wells to support leakage risk analysis
3. As part of a project with the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (SODIR), we developed a large-scale reservoir model of the Paleocene sands in the Heimdal/Frigg area to conduct extensive CO₂ storage simulations. In terms of reservoir modelling this delivery represents a huge geological model calibrated with historical data in terms of offtake and pressure development through time. These sands are destined to become an important hub for CCS in the Norwegian Continental Shelf in coming years, now partly licenced.

The project outcomes equip operators and stakeholders with critical decision-making tools and assessments of offshore infrastructure reuse potential, while also supporting transparent public communication about opportunities and potential risks associated with legacy wells in carbon storage. Additionally, the initiative explored innovative reuse concepts, such as seasonal storage of hydrogen and ammonia.