The Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) is looking at the possibility of establishing an energy hub on the Norfolk coast.
The industry body has already conducted a preliminary assessment of Bacton and identified it as a key priority area supporting net zero targets and maximising economic recovery from the UK Continental Shelf.
The OGA has now employed specialist project development company Progressive Energy to study the viability of an energy hub at Bacton and set out options that a potential industry consortium might explore.
Bacton holds a complex of five gas terminals and has the potential to produce hydrocarbons into the 2040. It is also in an area of large growth for wind power.
The study will look at the site’s suitability for using existing gas reserves as a transition fuel to produce blue hydrogen to initiate green hydrogen generation.
Progressive Energy will evaluate potential hydrogen supply and demand in the area; integration opportunities for hydrogen and hydrocarbons; and the role hydrogen can plan during energy demand peaks and troughs associated with current and future wind farms in and around Bacton.
It will also review the technology required for blue and green hydrogen production, and quantify how much hydrocarbons will still be required for conventional uses during the transition, and consequently available for blue hydrogen.