OSLO - Norway and France have signed a letter of intent to promote cooperation on the development and deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a way to help prevent global warming, the Norwegian energy ministry said on Monday.

Major oil and gas producer Norway plans to use CCS to store emissions from European industry and has designated geological formations deep beneath its seabed as reservoirs for CO2.

"As part of the cooperation, the two governments will consider and prepare a bilateral agreement to enable cross-border transportation and storage of CO2," Norway said.

"Norway will facilitate the development of CO2 storage on our continental shelf for industrial companies, French companies included," it added.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik Editing by David Goodman )