UK Awards Landmark Agreement for Major Carbon Capture and Storage Project in North Sea

The UK’s Crown Estate has granted an Agreement for Lease for what could be one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, playing a significant role in meeting the UK’s net zero ambitions.

The Crown Estate has announced a landmark agreement that will enable BP to proceed with its planned ‘Endurance’ carbon capture and storage project in the North Sea, which alone has the potential to capture half of the CO2 emissions that Britain aims to capture annually by 2030.

The project aims to utilize a reservoir deep below the North Sea to store hard-to-abate carbon emissions captured from carbon-intensive heavy industries in the so-called “East Coast Cluster.” With its large-scale potential, this project could significantly decarbonize the UK’s industrial emissions, aligning with the UK Government’s goal to capture and store 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.

This announcement represents a major milestone in the development of carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCS), a technology the UK has deemed a “necessity not an option” to achieving its 2050 net zero target.

“Supporting the development of CCS is a key priority for The Crown Estate, and we are delighted that the Endurance store is now a step closer to delivering on its enormous potential for contributing to net zero and delivering new jobs and thriving communities in one of the UK’s industrial heartlands,” said Gus Jaspert, Managing Director of Marine at The Crown Estate.

The ‘Endurance’ project is part of the Northern Endurance Partnership’s (NEP) East Coast Cluster, comprising the UK’s industrial hubs of Humber and Teesside. The cluster has been selected as one of the first in phase-1 of the UK Government’s CCS cluster sequencing process.

This cluster has also received a license from the North Sea Transmission Authority (NSTA), with whom The Crown Estate collaborates closely to shape the CCS industry. The Agreement for Lease allows for construction, CO2 injection, monitoring, and decommissioning, recognizing the long-term commitment and multi-generational impact of investing in CCS.

The NEP was established in 2020 by bp, as lead operator, along with Eni, Equinor, National Grid, Shell and TotalEnergies.

“The East Coast Cluster has a critical role to play in the delivery of UK decarbonization, with the ability to remove almost 50% of the UK’s total industrial cluster emissions,” said Chris Daykin, Managing Director of the Northern Endurance Partnership. ”Award of this Agreement for Lease marks another important step in the development of the Northern Endurance Partnership CO2 transport and storage system, and accelerates the efforts being made to decarbonise the UK’s industrial heartlands.”

The Crown Estate is dedicated to supporting new technologies like CCS, offshore wind, and hydrogen, which are vital for meeting the nation’s net zero targets. The Crown Estate is actively collaborating with NSTA, TCE, and CES to meet the UK Government’s carbon storage targets, designing leasing processes for CCS developers, and establishing the Offshore Wind and CCS Co-location Forum to address the challenges of co-locating offshore wind and CCS.

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