Energy / Veri signs agreement to explore Sullom Voe Terminal carbon storage
A MEMORANDUM of Understanding (MoU) has been signed to explore CO2 being transported from England to Sullom Voe Terminal (SVT) in Shetland before it is pumped under the North Sea for storage.
Veri Energy, the subsidiary of SVT operator EnQuest which is overseeing the transition of the terminal, has signed the MoU with the Severnside Carbon Capture and Shipping Hub (7CO2).
This will see the two firms explore sending CO2 from the Avonmouth Cluster emitter portfolio to Veri’s carbon storage project being developed at SVT.
Under the MoU, Veri would receive shipped carbon dioxide from Avonmouth in the southwest of England at the existing port facility at SVT, condition and store the CO2 before sending it via EnQuest’s pipeline to a storage reservoir under the North Sea.
Carbon capture and storage involves taking CO2 emissions from industrial processes, transporting it via a ship or pipeline and storing it underground offshore.
It is seen as a major component in the drive to net zero.
The Severnside Carbon Capture and Shipping Hub is located near Bristol and will collect CO2 from large emitters before shipping it onwards for long-term storage.
It will be able receive, process, store and load up to six million tonnes of captured CO2 a year.
EnQuest/Veri received four carbon storage licences from the North Sea Transition Authority in May 2023 in the regulator’s first UK offshore carbon storage licensing round.
These licences incorporate reservoirs in locations which are accessible using the existing infrastructure, including the 200km East of Shetland pipeline system and the Magnus offshore platform.
Veri said these four licensed sites include more than 300 million tonnes of total storage capacity, while the existing infrastructure has potential for up to 10 million tonnes per annum of storage, ramping up from as early as 2028/2029.
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Veri CEO Gavin Templeton said: “This partnership has the potential to help streamline and reduce full cycle carbon capture costs, bring resilience to 7CO2 and its emitter partners and provide an optimum ‘value for voney’ carbon capture and storage solution.”
Veri added that the “strategic location” of Shetland provides the company with the opportunity to import and store CO2 from “isolated emitters in the UK, Europe or further afield”.
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