As Europe accelerates its industrial decarbonisation agenda, offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) is moving from pilot initiatives to full-scale infrastructure development. The focus is shifting towards integrated transport and storage systems capable of handling millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) annually.
Several current projects illustrate how offshore CCS is being deployed across Europe using different technical and commercial models. From backbone pipeline networks to open-access storage hubs, the developments will be a key topic of discussion at the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Congress (DECARBON) 2026, set to take place in Vösendorf, Austria on 9–10 February. Major representatives of upstream, midstream and downstream operations will meet at the congress to assess progress and remaining challenges.
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Aramis CO₂ pipeline and storage: building a backbone for Dutch industry
The Aramis project represents one of the most ambitious offshore CCS infrastructure developments in continental Europe.
Philip Cooper, project director at Petrofac, says: “The project demonstrates the critical importance of integrated working, early supply chain engagement and effective technical interfaces across the CCS value chain, supported by a highly experienced and collaborative client organisation.”
In late 2023, the Aramis consortium (comprised of TotalEnergies, Shell, Gasunie and EBN) awarded UK-based Petrofac a 12-month front-end engineering design (FEED) contract to develop the project’s CO₂ transport and offshore storage system.
Petrofac has since led FEED for the 200km, 32in offshore CO₂ pipeline, linking onshore compression facilities in the Port of Rotterdam to multiple depleted gas reservoirs in the Dutch North Sea, with a design capacity of 22 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) operating in dense phase. The work was delivered through a fully co-located joint team, enabling close integration across process design, flow assurance, control systems, safety concepts and materials selection along the entire CCS value chain.
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By GlobalDataKey engineering challenges addressed during the FEED phase included routing an onshore CO₂ pipeline through a highly congested port environment, while meeting a stringent programme of standards and Royal Netherlands standardisation institute requirements, as well as developing a bespoke landfall and tunnelling solution using micro-tunnelling techniques. Offshore, Petrofac’s scope covered complex pipeline routing and mechanical design in mobile seabed conditions, alongside stability, protection and buckling considerations, subsea tie-in provisions, platform structural and safety design, and enhanced pre-commissioning strategies.
Cooper will present the results of Petrofac’s work at DECARBON 2026, where he will highlight the integrated, multidisciplinary approach required to deliver large-scale CCS infrastructure.
Petrofac continues to support the project as Aramis moves into the tender phase.
The Northern Lights project: open-access offshore CCS at industrial scale
Norway’s Northern Lights project has become a global reference for open-access offshore CCS. Developed by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies, Northern Lights demonstrates a scalable, ship-based model that reduces entry barriers for CCS adoption, with Shell playing one of the key roles in developing and scaling its transport and storage infrastructure.
At the Northern Lights terminal, liquefied CO₂ is delivered by ship and transferred into a series of storage tanks, before being pumped through a 110km subsea pipeline running through a fjord and into the North Sea. There, it is permanently stored in a deep saline aquifer beneath 330m of seawater and approximately 2,600m of seabed.
Shell’s involvement supports the project’s flexible, ship-based model, which is designed to lower barriers for industrial emitters seeking access to offshore CO₂ storage. From 2026, Northern Lights is set to receive CO₂ from Yara’s ammonia production facility in the Netherlands, as well as from biomass power plants operated by Ørsted. Additional volumes are expected from Hafslund Celsio’s waste-to-heat plant in Norway later in the decade.
Under its second-phase expansion, the Northern Lights project will see transport and storage capacity scale to at least 5mtpa of CO₂, with customers such as Stockholm Exergi already contracted. This positions the project at the centre of Europe’s emerging offshore CCS network.
Shell Deutschland’s Andreas Grobler, strategic partnership manager of energy transition Germany, will share the company’s CCS strategy at DECARBON 2026. He is expected to discuss projects including Northern Lights, the Deltra Rhine Corridor, Co2Next, Aramis and others.
APOLLOCO₂: extending offshore CCS to the Eastern Mediterranean
Offshore CCS development in Europe has traditionally been centred around the North Sea. However, the APOLLOCO₂ project represents a move towards establishing large-scale CCS infrastructure in southern Europe. Led by Greek gas transmission operator DESFA, the project is being developed as an open-access CO₂ transport and export network for Greece and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region.
In 2025, APOLLOCO₂ secured €169.3m ($201.9m) in funding from the EU Innovation Fund, positioning it as Greece’s first large-scale CCS midstream project and one of the most significant CCS transport initiatives currently under development in Europe.
DESFA’s strategic planning senior director, Kleopatra Avraam, will present the results of APOLLOCO₂ at DECARBON 2026 and share the company’s future plans.
A central element of the project is the development of a CO₂ liquefaction, temporary storage and export terminal on Revithoussa Island, where DESFA plans to integrate CO₂ liquefaction with the existing liquefied natural gas regasification terminal.
Recognised as a Project of Common Interest, APOLLOCO₂ provides the missing midstream link in Greece’s emerging CCS value chain, connecting onshore capture projects with offshore geological storage sites such as the Prinos offshore field, while also enabling future cross-border CO₂ flows across the Mediterranean.
To connect Greek industrial emitters to the liquefaction terminal, DESFA is also advancing plans for a CO₂ pipeline of approximately 35km, designed to transport around 3mtpa of CO₂ in its initial phase but with the potential to expand to manage up to 5mtpa by 2034. Together, these elements position APOLLOCO₂ as a cornerstone project for extending offshore CCS beyond Europe’s northern core and anchoring a new CCS corridor in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Offshore CCS integration challenges to be addressed at DECARBON 2026
Together, these projects show that offshore CCS in Europe is moving beyond isolated developments towards a coordinated, infrastructure-led system of pipelines, shipping routes and offshore storage hubs. The diversity of models now emerging reflects both the technical maturity of offshore CCS and the need for flexible approaches to accommodate different industrial clusters and regulatory environments.
As these systems scale up, their integration with broader oil and gas decarbonisation strategies becomes more important. Topics such as the coupling of CCS with low-carbon hydrogen production, alternative fuels and feedstocks, regulatory alignment, cost reduction and operational efficiency are shaping investment decisions across the sector.
These challenges promise to be at the centre of discussions at DECARBON 2026. The Congress gathers decision-makers and technical leaders from across the value chain to focus on accelerating deployment, reducing risks and moving towards commercially sustainable CCS systems.
Register here to attend DECARBON 2026.
