UK issues first-ever carbon storage permit

TEESSIDE, December 10, 2024 – The UK government has issued the country’s first-ever carbon storage permit to a group led by BP, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said on Tuesday.

The permit was issued to the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), which comprises BP (45%), Equinor (45%) and TotalEnergies (10%).

The NEP’s site is located off the coast of Teesside, northeast England, and has the potential to store up to 100 million tonnes of CO2.

The permit allows for first injection by 2027 with an injection rate of 4 million tonnes per year – a volume that would equate to 100 million tonnes over a 25-year project timeline.

It represents “the first of scores which are expected to follow in UK waters,” the NSTA said.

The news follow’s October’s announcement by the UK government of a plan to invest GBP 21.7 billion in the NEP project and Eni’s Liverpool Bay carbon transport and storage venture.

“For a long time we have talked about the possibility of carbon storage; we have often touted the UK’s vast geographic potential of 78GT, we have drawn up plans for a carbon storage economy and we have grasped the prospect of new jobs,” NSTA CEO Stuart Payne said.

“Now we are making it happen.”