Response to the Draft Delegated Regulation on CO₂ Injection Capacity Obligations

IOGP Europe, representing the European upstream oil and gas industry, welcomes the opportunity for public consultation offered by the European Commission and would like to share its views on this draft Delegated Regulation (DR), pursuant to Article paragraph 12, whose adoption is critical in the context of achieving the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) 50 Mtpa CO₂ injection capacity objective by 2030.

We believe this DR must be fit-for-purpose, taking into account the specific conditions of CO₂ storage projects, providing obligated entities and Member States with flexibility for its implementation while at the same time ensuring legal certainty for the development of an integrated European CO₂ storage market.

The timeframe between the adoption of this Delegated Regulation, the subsequent Commission Decision assigning obligations to individual entities, and the deadline for submission of compliance plans by 30 June 2025 under Article 23(4) is too short, giving obligated entities insufficient time to consolidate their compliance strategies. This challenge is further aggravated by the lack of clarity regarding the threshold value.

Compliance strategies for a 1% obligation differ materially from those for a 5% obligation, both in scope and financial commitment. This ambiguity hinders obligated entities' ability to prepare robust investment plans aligned with their long-term goals in complying with obligations (and deadlines) stemming from NZIA Regulation.

We therefore ask for the postponement of the June 2025 deadline through a clear timeline starting after the publication of this DR and to establish a process for the verification of production data and of the calculation factor adopted by the European Commission.

 Our recommendations:

1. Regarding the identification of obligated entities and setting the threshold below which entities are exempt from contribution:

• Exempt authorization holders producing less than 1% of total EU oil and gas between 2020 and 2023 as well as all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

2. On annual progress reporting by obligated entities:

• To avoid risks of market distortion or violations of competition law rules, it is critical that the reports (under Article 23(6) of the NZIA) made public by the Commission do not require obligated entities to publicly disclose commercially sensitive information. Such information could compromise fair competition if shared with competitors, CO₂ emitters or transport operators or third parties.

These steps are essential to uphold legal certainty, align with Better Regulation principles, and build a functioning, integrated European CO₂ storage market.

IOGP Europe stands ready to support the Commission in fine-tuning this regulation to ensure that implementation of the NZIA is both effective and grounded in reality. Our full recommendations and proposed amendments to the draft text are available below.