Moment
Carbon dioxide below the North Sea
Sleipner field, Norwegian North Sea; storage began in 1996
At Sleipner, carbon dioxide separated from produced natural gas began being injected into a geological formation beneath the North Sea in 1996. Instead of releasing that separated gas to the atmosphere, the operation placed it in the Utsira formation.
- Start
- 1996
- Formation
- Utsira
- Method
- Injection beneath the seabed
The caveat
Sleipner captures carbon dioxide from a natural-gas stream, not directly from ambient air. Burning the natural gas that is sold still produces emissions, and storage sites vary in suitability.
Repeated seismic surveys have helped researchers track the carbon dioxide's movement within the storage formation.
How it connects
Sleipner pairs injection with repeated observation of the underground carbon dioxide.
This moment appeared in Set apart, then keep apart, the Involves connection for November 3, 2026, which asked: When does moving something away count as solving the problem?
Check yourself
Where does the carbon dioxide stored at Sleipner come from?
It is separated from produced natural gas. Exactly. Sleipner's process separates carbon dioxide from the production stream before injecting it underground.
What the sources establish
Sleipner began storing CO2 separated from natural gas in the Utsira formation in 1996; repeated seismic surveys have tracked its underground migration.
Sources
The Sleipner area (Equinor), Sleipner overview and Sleipner Vest: CO2 removal and Utsira storage since 1996
CCS monitoring (British Geological Survey), Deep monitoring; time-lapse seismic image of Sleipner; leakage detection