Harbour Energy plc has agreed with bp to develop the Viking carbon capture storage (CCS) and transportation project close to the Humber region in the southern North Sea.
VIKING CCS
The company continues as operator holding 60% of the project with bp acquiring a 40% non-operated share.
Viking CCS comprises four main components relating to CO2 which include capture, transport (onshore), transport (offshore) and injection and storage.
Harbour said that the project had the potential to meet one third of the UK Government’s target to capture and store up to 30 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2030.
Up to £7 billion of investment across the full CO2 capture, transport and storage value chain could be unlocked over the next decade, creating over 10,000 jobs during construction, and providing an estimated £4 billion of gross value add to the Humber and its surrounding areas, added the company.
Harbour and bp already share an interest in the Lincolnshire offshore gas gathering system (LOGGS) pipeline which is intended to be repurposed as part of the project.
Viking CCS also has access to a planned new CO2 shipping terminal at Immingham, giving the potential for shipped CO2 from dispersed emitters elsewhere in the UK and internationally to be transported for permanent storage within the Viking fields.
TIMESCALE
Viking CCS is one of two main transport and storage system contenders for the Government’s recent decision to launch Track 2 of its CCS cluster sequencing process.
A final investment decision is expected in 2024 and the project could be operational by 2027 and potentially storing up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.