UK Opens New Round for North Sea Carbon Storage Proposals

The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has launched a new call for carbon capture and storage (CCS) site nominations, aiming to accelerate the country’s path to net-zero emissions by 2050. This follows recent approvals, including a carbon storage license for the Northern Endurance Partnership and three permits for Eni’s Liverpool Bay CCS project.

The NSTA is encouraging companies to nominate areas where they have already conducted technical assessments, which is expected to lead to higher quality proposals and faster project timelines. Companies must submit spatial data and project outlines by July 31, 2025. The NSTA will assess submissions in collaboration with Crown Estate Scotland, The Crown Estate, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to align carbon storage efforts with other offshore activities, such as wind and tidal energy projects.

The UK Continental Shelf is estimated to have the capacity to store up to 78 gigatonnes of CO₂ in depleted reservoirs and saline aquifers. As part of its long-term CCS strategy, the UK government has pledged up to £21.7 billion over 25 years and issued 21 licenses in a major round that concluded in September 2023.

Eni’s Liverpool Bay CCS project, which will serve the HyNet industrial cluster in North West England and North Wales, received recent regulatory approval. CO₂ from regional plants will be transported to storage sites beneath the Irish Sea. Italian firms Saipem and Rosetti Marino have been awarded contracts for key infrastructure, including a CO₂ compression station and offshore platforms.

Source: offshore-energy.biz