UK kicks off first carbon storage licensing round

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) announced June 14 the opening of the UK's first ever carbon storage licensing round, inviting bids for 13 offshore blocks that span from northern Scotland to Lincolnshire.

The application window will close on September 13. NSTA expects to announce the winners by early 2023, however the "size and scale" of the storage areas means they will develop according to different time-scales. The first injection of CO2 "could" happen four to six years after the licence award, NSTA said.

NSTA says the new awards will make a "significant contribution" to the UK's carbon storage target, aimed at storing 20 to 30mn CO2 metric tons by 2030. 

The new licences comprise saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas reservoirs.  They are situated across offshore Aberdeen, Teeside, Liverpool and Lincolnshire, in the southern North Sea, central North Sea, northern North Sea and east Irish Sea.

NSTA believes the licences offer particular geological attributes, existing infrastructure and links to industrial clusters. The authority expects to hold further licensing on the road to net zero, with an estimated 100 CO₂ stores to be delivered by 2050.

Whitehall's green industrial revolution strategy, set out in November 2020, established four clusters for carbon capture, usage and storage, in Scotland, North East England, the Humber and North West England. The government is now keen to attract the necessary private investment.

Currently, there are six UK carbon storage licences which by the 2030s have potential to inject up to 40mn CO₂ tons/year, into reservoirs and aquifers.

The UK's energy and climate change minister, Greg Hands, commented: "We are determined to make the UK a world leader in carbon capture, which will be crucial in helping us reduce emissions and protect the viability and competitiveness of British industry.

"This licensing round is an important step in making this a reality, helping support new jobs across the UK and encouraging investment in our industrial heartlands.”