"This could be a smart solution to extracting and storing CO2," said Edna Brathammer, who said Norway had to remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2010 for it to comply with its Kyoto obligations.

Emissions from oil and gas production now make up 17 percent of Norwegian gas emissions measured as CO2 equivalents. These emissions have increased by 50 percent from 1990 according to figures from the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority.

The U.N. Kyoto Protocol commits the country to increase emissions by no more than one percent between 2008 and 2012 compared with 1990 levels.

The CO2 would be extracted from power stations or industrial plants and transported under pressure at a temperature of -50 degees centigrade to an oilfield.

There it would be used as a subsitute for more precious commodities like natural gas or water as a medium for pressurisation.

"We have submitted the design to a number of shipbuilders and we expect to see bids in the near future," Navion's Brathammer told Reuters.

He said the carbon dioxide would be injected into the well or field where it will be utilised in oil extraction technology.

He said a fleet of vessels which he likened to customised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers would be "more flexible and less costly" than a dedicated pipeline which could reach up to 3 billion Norwegian crowns ($350.8 million).

Navion declined to say how many ships would be built.

"As a rule of thumb two ships would be needed to carry all of the CO2 extracted from a standard European gas-fired power station," the spokesman said.