Project Greensand, the INEOS-led initiative establishing a commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chain in the Danish North Sea, has selected the US oil and gas services company NOV’s Advanced Production and Loading (APL) division to provide the project’s offshore CO2 injection system.
Following the final investment decision taken in December 2024, the consortium of INEOS in partnership with Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden (the Danish North Sea Fund) has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to APL for the offshore CO2 transfer solution at the Nini oil field.
NOV’s solution enables the direct injection of liquefied CO2 from transport vessels into depleted subsurface reservoirs, thereby eliminating the need for intermediate onshore infrastructure. This is APL’s first venture into offshore carbon injection and Project Greensand will be one of the first users of this new technology.
Kurt Jager Lykke, Head of Project Greensand at INEOS Energy, commented: ‘CCS is going to play a vital role in the energy transition, and with Greensand becoming the first CO2 storage facility in the EU, we take a giant and important step toward large-scale storage of CO2 from European emitters.’
The facility will initially sequester 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, with the ambition to scale up its capacity to 8 million tonnes annually by 2030. The long-term target is to store 250 million tonnes by 2040, in alignment with European climate objectives under the Paris Agreement.
Captured CO2 will be liquefied at Danish biomethane plants, transported to the Port of Esbjerg, and shipped offshore for injection. Carbon Destroyer 1, the first purpose-built European offshore CO2 carrier, was launched in May 2025 and connects the port to the Nini West platform offshore. Based on the EasyMax design by Royal Wagenborg and Royal Niestern Sander, the vessel carries up to 5,000 tonnes of liquid CO2 and is engineered for high safety, fuel efficiency, and low emissions.
The APL system uses NOV’s expertise in riser and fluid transfer technologies, which have historically applied in oil and gas shuttle operations. ‘We are excited to contribute to this innovative CCS project with direct injection from the CO2 transport ship,’ said Anders Vaalandsmyr, Technology and R&D Director at NOV. ‘Building on our technology and experience with Single Anchor Loading systems, we have put together a tailored solution for direct injection of high-pressure CO2.’
Project Greensand’s announcement comes amid a backdrop of growing urgency for the development of a scalable pan-European CCS infrastructure. With cross-border CO2 transport and storage now proven to be technically feasible, the project serves as a blueprint for replication in other geographies and jurisdictions. The initiative also further consolidates Denmark’s leading position in the European CCS value chain, which offers new revenue potential streams and industrial leadership in offshore decarbonisation to early movers.
