Prax refinery joins UK Humber CCS group

Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery has joined the V Net Zero Humber Cluster in northeast UK, it said September 7, saying it was part of the Prax Group’s "ongoing commitment to developing sustainable strategies for the business, both for now and for the future."

The project entails capturing CO2 emissions from industrial sites and storing them in a depleted gas field (CCS). The hope is that the cost of doing so will work out cheaper for the scheme's members than continuing to emit CO₂. Prices are rising in the EU's emissions trading scheme, although not yet to the point where they equal the cost of CCS.

Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. ngc.co.tt

The V Net Zero Humber Cluster is led by Harbour Energy and now comprises Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery,  Humber Zero (with partners: Phillips 66 Humber Refinery and Vitol’s VPI Immingham power plant) and EP UK Investments. The project seeks to decarbonise CO₂ emissions, with the CO₂ transported by pipeline for storage in the depleted Viking gas fields, off the nearby Lincolnshire coast.

Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery’s initial target is to capture 1.1mn metric tons/yr of CO₂ for transport and storage by Harbour Energy. This project is likely to be implemented in two phases; the first in 2027 and the second phase will follow in 2029.

Prax Group CEO Luc Smets said that membership of the V Net Zero Humber Cluster project was consistent with its sustainability goals. "Committing to decarbonising our emissions represents the firm commitment we have  to minimising adverse effects on the environment, wherever it is practical for us to do so.  In this, we are committed at all levels and within all functions of the Prax Group.”