Angus Positions UK Field for Clean Future

The restart of gas production from the Saltfleetby gasfield in Lincolnshire, the UK, is on track, said the operator Angus May 1, announcing a new plan to incorporate a hydrogen-ready pipeline directly to the national grid.

It said this would be "consistent with our objective of delivering a robust long-term strategy in addition to a low-cost project" and be the first of its kind. The line "has the opportunity to bring the field into the vision of a zero carbon economy for the Humber, where Saltfleetby itself could present opportunities for hydrogen storage toward reservoir end of life." This is also a new idea: in the past, Angus only mentioned CO2 storage as an opportunity.

The company is also considering diverting a proposed pipeline by a hundred metres to the nearby gas distribution centre where a suspended, but functional, third party gas line runs from the old Theddlethorpe refinery northward to the refineries on the Humber. This line could represent an alternative off-take route but it means "a minor delay" to the Council submission to the last week of May.

Angus also sent out tenders to almost a dozen bidders for the various items of equipment needed to process the gas and extended the bidding deadline well into May. "Whilst the market for such equipment is global, procurement into the European Union is not a simple affair and even procurement from within the EU is demanding in terms of the paperwork which must ultimately certify the origin of kit and its compliance with CE standards," it said. 

Saltfleetby promises to deliver, as a mid-case, £50($63)mn of future P50 cash flows before tax to Angus, according to a competent person's report. The other owner is Russian gas monopoly Gazprom.