PGNiG Upstream Norway approved as operator and partner with Horisont Energi in the Polaris CO2 storage

SANDNES, Norway 3 January 2024 – Horisont Energi (EURONEXT: HRGI) today announces that the Norwegian Ministry of Energy has approved PGNiG Upstream Norway as operator and partner with Horisont Energi in Polaris (CO2 exploration licence EXL003) the only CO2 storage located in the Barents Sea.

Horisont Energi and PGNiG Upstream Norway (PUN) on 11 December 2023 announced a sales purchase agreement making PUN a licence partner. The governmental appointment of PUN as operator and approval as licensee represent a key milestone in the development of the Polaris project.

“With PGNiG Upstream Norway now in place as operator and partner, we have a very strong fundament to unlock the potential of Polaris as a vehicle to reduce emissions on an industrial scale. We have had excellent cooperation with the PUN team so far and look forward to developing this great partnership going forward,” says Bjørgulf Haukelidsæter Eidesen, CEO of Horisont Energi.

“We are glad to see the Norwegian authorities supporting the rapidly developing CCS industry in Norway and Europe. The Polaris carbon storage project is a significant emission management initiative in Europe with expected ripple effects far beyond the Norwegian Continental Shelf. We strongly believe that our involvement in this project will contribute to our strategic goal to become a regional leader of the low carbon transition. Polaris will enable us to launch carbon management services to support our customers on their own way to net zero future” says Daniel Obajtek, ORLEN’s CEO and President of the Management Board. PGNiG Upstream Norway is a subsidiary of ORLEN.

Horisont Energi and PUN each have a participating interest of 50% in the EXL003 CO2 licence Polaris, which will provide CO2 storage for Horisont Energi’s and Fertiberia’s Barents Blue project as well as other CO2 customers. The advancement of the Polaris project to handle sequestration of CO2 from multiple customers further strengthens the commercial basis for the carbon storage business case in Northern Norway, and the development of a European carbon value chain. Horisont Energi is currently in advanced dialogues with E.ON on CO2 storage capacity for the Polaris carbon storage licence and has as previously disclosed agreed to develop and share the costs of shipping CO2 from Central Europe to Norway.

Horisont Energi has made considerable progress in developing pioneering projects towards a carbon neutral future. Within CCS, this now includes storage, capture technology, a planned CO2 terminal, CO2 supply, and the establishment of strong partnerships. The Polaris carbon storage development started in February 2020. The Polaris exploration licence EXL003 was applied for in 2021 and awarded on June 10, 2022.