Licences have been offered for companies to inject captured carbon into thousands of square kilometres of depleted oil and gas fields in the North Sea for the first time.
Twenty licences have been offered to 12 companies for sites totalling around 12,000 square kilometres, an area larger than Yorkshire, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said on Thursday, with the first injection potentially taking place within the next six years.
If accepted, the companies will begin projects to transport and inject carbon captured from heavy industry and power stations into old oil and gas reserves under the ocean.
“If we get this right, it will not only help the decarbonisation of heavy industry, power generation and manufacturing globally but also create growth and export opportunity,” trade body Offshore Energies UK boss David Whitehouse commented.
Tenty-six bids had been submitted by 19 companies between June and September last year as part of the UK’s first North Sea carbon capture and storage licensing round.
Though the NTSA anticipates the initial 20 licenses could store some 10% of the UK’s annual emissions, the untested projects have faced scrutiny in the past.
Australia’s Climate Council argued in February that carbon capture and storage was “simply an attempt to prolong the life of polluting fossil fuels” and was not a viable climate solution.
The London School of Economics added in a March report that the projects would likely be costly, while potential leaks of carbon dioxide could hinder efforts to reduce emissions.
Tight regulation and the use of well-known geological sights should minimise risks though, the research reassured, with the NSTA adding on Thursday that carbon storage is “necessary” to decarbonise the UK’s power and industrial sectors.
Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) and BP PLC (LSE:BP.) are among companies with plans to invest in carbon capture projects, although the authority is yet to name successful applicants, which will also have to apply for leases from the Crown Estate.
Drax Group (LSE:DRX) has also earmarked £2bn to incorporate carbon capture into its biomass plant in North Yorkshire, with talks currently taking place over government subsidies for the project.