A British energy company, Ineos Energy, is set to launch the North Sea’s first commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility this month, repurposing the Nini West oil platform located 150 miles off the Danish coast. Once a site for fossil fuel extraction, Nini West will now serve to inject and permanently store up to eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually deep beneath the seabed, marking a significant milestone for Denmark’s climate efforts.
The project, known as Greensand, involves retrofitting two former oil wells to pump CO2 approximately 1,800 meters below the seabed into impermeable geological formations. The captured CO2 primarily originates from Danish industrial-scale pig and livestock farms, where the gas is collected after biomethane combustion processes. Ineos has secured agreements with farmers to compress and transport this CO2, which is then shipped from the Danish port of Esbjerg aboard the specially commissioned vessel Carbon Destroyer 1. The ship, built in the Netherlands and costing around £130 million including port upgrades, will transport roughly 5,000 tonnes of liquid CO2 per journey to the Nini West platform for storage.
David Bucknall, CEO of Ineos Energy, describes the initiative as establishing a new European waste disposal chain, transforming agricultural emissions into stored carbon and high-quality carbon credits that can be purchased by corporations such as Microsoft and Amazon to offset their emissions.
Ineos’s shift from oil production to carbon storage at Nini West was motivated by declining output across its North Sea fields and the high financial and regulatory barriers faced when attempting similar projects in the United Kingdom. Despite the UK government’s long-standing commitment to lead in carbon capture, the company encountered regulatory restrictions that prevented the integration of CO2 storage infrastructure with existing hydrocarbon extraction assets. These rules, combined with recent windfall taxes on the oil and gas sector and a halt on new offshore exploration initiated during earlier Labour government policies, contributed to a decision to pursue the project in Danish waters instead.
The UK government has pledged substantial funding for domestic CCS development, including a £21.7 billion commitment over 25 years centered on the East Coast Cluster in Teesside and the HyNet Cluster in Merseyside and North Wales. These efforts aim to develop carbon capture facilities for industrial emitters, supported by new CO2 transport and storage networks. However, progress has been slow and costly, with inflation pushing project costs to an estimated £29 billion. Current UK targets have shifted away from specific CO2 storage volumes by 2030 toward broader market creation goals, with scaling anticipated by 2035. Industry experts and government advisers maintain that CCS is critical for achieving net-zero emissions, though some critics cast doubt on its scalability and economic viability.
Denmark’s project opening on September 18 is expected to draw high-profile attention, including Denmark’s King Frederik summoning Britain’s ambassador to attend. Danish officials hope for UK ministerial representation, but skepticism remains given Britain’s limited involvement. Ineos founder and CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe envisions expanding the fleet of CO2 transport ships, establishing a model for cost-effective, repurposed CCS infrastructure utilizing existing offshore assets.
The contrasting trajectories highlight ongoing challenges and debates surrounding CCS deployment, including cost, regulation, technological readiness, and political support. While Denmark moves forward with a functional large-scale facility, the UK continues to navigate regulatory complexity and investment uncertainty, with industry leaders questioning whether future governments will sustain the necessary frameworks and funding for CCS to flourish.