Horisont Energi announced 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.

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.