Image Credit: The Maritime Executive
France and Norway Sign Historic Agreement for Offshore CO₂ Transport and Storage
France and Norway have formalized a pivotal agreement enabling the transport of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from French industrial facilities—such as Le Havre, Dunkirk, and Saint‑Nazaire—to Norwegian storage sites beneath the North Sea seabed. Signed in Oslo on June 23 by Norway’s Minister of Energy, Terje Aasland, and France’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Éric Lombard, the pact marks a significant milestone in carbon capture and storage (CCS) collaboration between the two nations.
This agreement builds on a December 2022 Letter of Intent and recent amendments in French legislation that allow cross-border CO₂ transport. It integrates with Equinor and GRTgaz’s “CO₂ Highway Europe” pipeline network, connecting industrial emitters in France to the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) storage infrastructure .
Under the arrangement, captured CO₂ will be liquefied and shipped by specially designed carriers such as Northern Pioneer and Northern Pathfinder to the Northern Lights terminal at Øygarden. From there, the gas will be injected into geological reservoirs approximately 2,600 meters below the seabed, in a system first launched in September 2024 and initially capable of storing 1.5 million tonnes per year.
French and Norwegian authorities committed to transparent reporting of cross-border emissions and CCS operations, ensuring compliance with the London Protocol, EU law on emissions trading, and maritime conventions governing carbon shipments.
This partnership not only leverages existing CCS infrastructure but also signals a major expansion. Norway’s Longship project has awarded multiple exploration and exploitation licenses—including to Equinor—and Phase 2 of Northern Lights aims to scale storage capacity to at least 5 Mt CO₂ per year by 2028. The agreement offers regulatory and financial certainty that may incentivize further investment in CO₂ transport, additional vessels, and expanded terminal capacity.
Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland described the agreement as “a breakthrough for European climate cooperation,” emphasizing its role in supporting French industry’s transition to a low-carbon model while establishing a replicable blueprint for pan‑European CCS infrastructure.
The agreement positions the North Sea as Europe’s leading CO₂ storage hub, utilizing depleted oil and gas reservoirs as stable geological repositories. It reflects a broader effort by states and industry—such as Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies—to connect continental emitters through maritime transport and shared maritime infrastructure.
In summary, the France–Norway CCS agreement reinforces both countries’ commitments to the Paris Agreement goals, creates a secure and transparent mechanism for cross-border CO₂ transport, and inaugurates a scalable maritime infrastructure model. It could serve as a foundational framework for a future European CO₂ transport and storage network, addressing emissions from heavy-industry sectors that are otherwise difficult to abate.
