The energy transition on the Norwegian shelf

Where the emissions come from

Emissions from the petroleum sector make up about a quarter of Norway's total greenhouse gas emissions (norskpetroleum.no, read 29 Sep 2026). The largest source is the gas turbines that generate power and heat on the installations. Then come flaring for safety reasons and emissions from storing and loading oil.

Keep apart two things that are often mixed up: emissions from production on the shelf, which count in Norway's emissions, and emissions when the oil and gas are used, which mostly happen in other countries and count there.

CO₂ has a price

Companies on the shelf pay both a CO₂ tax and for allowances in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Together the price was about NOK 1,825 per tonne of CO₂ in 2025, substantially higher than for most other activities in Norway (norskpetroleum.no, read 29 Sep 2026).

The price makes it profitable to cut emissions, and it enters the numbers for new projects. According to the PDO/PIO guidelines, licensees must also stress-test a development by comparing its breakeven price with oil and gas price paths consistent with the Paris Agreement.

Power from shore

Power from shore means the installations get electricity by cable from the onshore grid instead of generating it themselves with gas turbines. Johan Sverdrup, Edvard Grieg, Ivar Aasen, Gina Krog, Ormen Lange, Snøhvit, Troll A, Goliat, Valhall and Martin Linge run on power from shore today, and more projects are on the way (norskpetroleum.no, read 29 Sep 2026).

• In 1996 the Storting decided that every new field development must show its energy demand and what power from shore would cost (PDO/PIO guidelines).
• Power from shore cuts emissions on the shelf, but uses electricity from a grid where it is also needed for other things. The debate is about the cost per tonne cut, grid capacity and power prices.
• The field pages for, for example, Johan Sverdrup and Goliat show their production.

Wind power for the platforms: Hywind Tampen

Hywind Tampen is a floating wind farm with 11 turbines and 94.6 MW that supplies power to Snorre A and B and Gullfaks A, B and C. Equinor estimates it covers about 35 % of the five installations' annual power demand. The turbines sit on floating concrete hulls in 260–300 metres of water, and the farm was in full operation in summer 2023 (equinor.com, read 29 Sep 2026).

Storing CO₂ below the seabed

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has three links: capture from an industrial plant or a gas field, transport by ship or pipeline, and storage in porous rock deep below the seabed, sealed by tight rock above. It is the same geology that traps oil and gas.

• Sleipner has since 1996 separated nearly one million tonnes of CO₂ a year from its gas and stored it in the Utsira formation (norskpetroleum.no).
• Snøhvit has since 2008 separated CO₂ at Melkøya and sent it back to the field for storage (norskpetroleum.no).
• Northern Lights, owned equally by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies, receives liquid CO₂ by ship at a terminal in Øygarden. From there it flows through a pipeline of about 100 km to the Aurora reservoir, 2,600 metres below the seabed. The first volumes were stored in August 2025, from Heidelberg Materials' cement plant in Brevik. Phase one has capacity for 1.5 million tonnes a year; for phase two, with at least 5 million tonnes a year, the investment decision was taken in March 2025 (equinor.com, read 29 Sep 2026). Northern Lights is the transport and storage part of Longship, the Norwegian government's full-scale CCS project.

The CO₂ storage licences are shown as a separate layer on the globe on the analysis page.

Offshore wind for power to shore

Offshore wind that supplies power to shore is a different market from Hywind Tampen. So far the authorities have awarded two areas (Statnett, updated 25 Feb 2026):

• Sørlige Nordsjø II, bottom-fixed wind: Ventyr won the auction in March 2024 and got the right to apply for a licence for 1,500 MW.
• Utsira Nord, floating wind off Haugalandet: two project areas of 500 MW were awarded on 11 December 2025.

Bottom-fixed turbines stand on foundations on the seabed and suit shallower water. Floating turbines can stand in deeper water but are so far more expensive.

What does it mean for oil, gas and shipping?

• Oil and gas: the CO₂ price and the requirement to assess power from shore make emissions a cost in every project. Emissions per barrel produced become a competitive factor.
• Gas: Europe still buys a lot of Norwegian gas, see the guide to gas to Europe.
• Shipping: the CO₂ value chain needs dedicated ships for liquid CO₂, and offshore wind needs installation and service vessels. See the guide to the rig market and offshore vessels.
• The supplier industry: much of the expertise from oil and gas – floaters, subsea systems, marine operations – is also used in offshore wind and CO₂ storage.
• Jobs: see the guide to careers in energy, offshore and shipping.

Sources

• Emissions to air – norskpetroleum.no – share of emissions, CO₂ tax and allowance price 2025, fields on power from shore; read 29 Sep 2026
• Carbon capture and storage – norskpetroleum.no – Sleipner, Snøhvit, Longship
• First CO₂ volumes stored at Northern Lights – Equinor, 25 Aug 2025 – pipeline length, depth, phase 1 and 2 capacity, owners
• About the Longship project – Northern Lights
• Hywind Tampen – Equinor – turbines, capacity, share of power demand, water depth
• Offshore wind areas – Statnett (in Norwegian) – Sørlige Nordsjø II and Utsira Nord, updated 25 Feb 2026
• Guidelines for PDO and PIO (12 Sep 2022, in Norwegian) – power from shore and climate-risk stress test

The guides are written by OESA students to explain concepts and how things fit together. They are not investment advice. Figures that are not definitions carry a source and a date; if you find an error, let us know at styret@oesa.no.