Energy company Eni is drafting a CCS agreement in the Southeast

With forward delivery plans two industrial centers with zero carbon emissions in the north of England this week a new proposal to move carbon capture and storage (CCS) capacity to the south east was unveiled.

Energy company Eni UK yesterday announced the launch of a new agreement with a group of industrial partners with the common goal of decarbonising industrial processes in South East England and the Thames Estuary by deploying CCS technology and infrastructure.

The new agreement, called the Bacton Thames Net Zero (BTNZ) Partnership Agreement, will see the decarbonisation of a number of carbon-intensive facilities in the region, including power stations and waste disposal facilities.

Eni said the project would aim to capture, transport and store up to six million tonnes of CO2 a year – with a potential increase to 10 million tonnes a year – at the depleted Hewett gas field, which is located 20 miles off the North Norfolk coast and is estimated to , has a capacity of up to 330 million tons of trapped gas.

Eni UK said it applied to the North Sea Transitional Authority for a CO2 storage license for the Hewett field in September, with an announcement on the award of the license expected in the first quarter of next year.

The project is therefore expected to be operational as early as 2027, potentially providing a major boost to the UK government’s Net Zero Strategy, which aims to capture 20 to 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year across the UK by 2030.

The BTNZ initiative was convened by Eni UK, which is developing carbon transport and storage in the UK, and is supported by a number of members including Cadent, Cory, Enfinium, MVV Environment, Progressive Energy, Summit Energy Evolution (Sumitomo Corporation). Company), North London Waste Management, SSE Thermal, Interconnector and Fluxys, the latter two being potential future partners for international carbon transport.

Eni UK said it will play a key role in the project and is already actively planning to transport and store carbon dioxide from its partners to the depleted Hewett gas field.

Eni added that it has extensive subsoil knowledge in the field, having worked in the region for many years, and highlighted its CCS work to manage the HyNet project in the Liverpool Bay area, which is a key component of the North West Zero Emission Industrial Cluster carbon. received state support.