OGUK calls for greater support for offshore carbon storage, hydrogen developments

Offshore staff

LONDON – Britain could store 100 million metric tons (110 million tons) a year of CO₂ in rock formations beneath the North Sea and East Irish Sea by 2050, according to Oil and Gas UK (OGUK).

The association’s Energy Transition Outlook report claims the total capacity in these formations is 78 billion metric tons (86 billion tons),190 times greater than the UK’s annual emissions of 400 million metric tons (441 million tons).

To reach the annual storage figure proposed, at least 5 billion metric tons (5.5 billion tons) of CO₂ storage capacity would need to be developed.

The report also notes that the UK offshore sector’s emissions have fallen by 10% (1.8 million metric tons/1.98 million tons) since 2018, on track for the targeted reduction of 50% by 2030.

Earlier this week the UK government published its Net Zero Strategy, stating that carbon capture and storage and mass production of low-carbon hydrogen are needed for Britain to meet its carbon reduction targets.

By 2050 hydrogen could account for 20-35% of UK final energy consumption, the government suggested.

This would entail splitting natural gas to produce hydrogen plus CO₂, with the CO₂ permanently stored offshore the UK.

Mike Tholen, OGUK’s sustainability director, said: “The UK’s offshore oil and gas industry is changing. Our members are breaking ground today on projects and technologies that will revolutionize the UK’s energy systems.

“Those technologies will remove greenhouse gases, increase our energy security and resilience, and help meet the UK’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050…

“Our report also shows, however, that these new technologies will need long-term support and investment, especially in their early years. That means support in both terms of overall policy and in the way they are financed.”

10/22/2021