The conducted analysis extends beyond solely evaluating work duty reduction, including the assessment of capital expenditures (CAPEX), operational expenditures (OPEX), and the levelized cost of CO 2 compression. Through this framework, it has been demonstrated that optimal levelized costs do not always correlate with the minimum work, and that for certain scenarios, supercritical and sub-critical pressurisation pathways could provide more cost-effective solutions compared to conventional multi-stage compression.