In a joint effort, Norwegian and British authorities have investigated the possibility of using the North Sea to store carbon dioxide. The report was submitted on 9 June.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) is one of the contributors to the project entitled One North Sea - A study into North Sea cross-border CO2 transport and storage. The project group has estimated the size of the existing storage space, as well as the future needs. The group has also examined what would be required for storing CO2 from Europe - and when this need might arise.

The report also addresses factors such as what industry and the authorities can do to establish a good framework and an infrastructure for CO2 transport.

According to the report, Europe could have a need to store up to 270 million tonnes of CO2 per year, starting from 2030. That is 4.5 times more than the annual CO2 emissions in Norway, including all automobile traffic and transport.

The project estimates that half of the potential CO2 storage sites are found under the North Sea.

The British consultancy firm Element Energy coordinated the work on the report, which also includes contributions from the German and Dutch authorities.