Pioneering UK CCSP Spearheaded by Equinor, bp and Total

Equinor, bp and TotalEnergies — shareholders in the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) — are joining forces to further the development of the UK's inaugural carbon capture and storage projects (CCSP).

Equinor recently achieved financial close following a Final Investment Decision (FID) to advance these projects at Teesside as part of the broader initiatives of NEP and Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power).

The energy giant plans to begin construction by mid-2025, with the operations expected to start in 2028.

These projects encompass a CO₂ gathering network and onshore compression facilities, topped with a 145km offshore pipeline leading to the Endurance saline aquifer located about 1000m beneath the seabed.

This facility is designed to initially transport and securely store up to four million tonnes of captured CO₂ emissions annually from three projects around Teesside.

Expanding carbon capture capacity

The East Coast Cluster, selected as one of the UK government's premier carbon capture and storage hubs, is set to see its carbon capture capacity scale significantly to an average of up to 23 million tonnes by 2035.

Irene Rummelhoff, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Midstream and Processing at Equinor, explains: “It is a major milestone to have agreed FID and financial close on two of the UK’s first CCSP.

"This demonstrates how the industry, alongside the UK government, have progressed a business model for new power supply and carbon capture, transport and storage services to decarbonise the most carbon intensive region in the UK. 

“We look forward to continued collaboration with our partners and the UK government as we prepare to progress the projects, with an estimated operational date from 2028 onwards.”

The potential of CCSP

For more than four decades, Equinor has been a significant energy supplier to the UK, contributing more than 25% of its natural gas needs — enough to heat eight million homes.

Alongside this, Equinor is a stakeholder in the southern North Sea's Dogger Bank, which, upon completion, will be the largest offshore wind farm globally.NZT Power is pioneering a new gas-fired power plant with integrated carbon capture technology in the UK, assisting in decarbonising the north-east's industrial zones.

This plant will generate up to 742MW of decarbonised, flexible power, aimed at meeting the renewable energy demands of approximately one million UK homes.

It will also capture up to two million tonnes of CO₂ annually for secure storage by the NEP project.

Investments and future developments

Equinor holds a 45% share in NEP, with bp and TotalEnergies owning 45% and 10% respectively.

Meanwhile, bp maintains a 75% stake in NZT Power, with the remainder held by Equinor.

A consortium of nine leading engineering, procurement and construction contractors has been tasked with the build, with project costs slated around £4bn (more than US$5bn). 

Alex Grant, UK Country Manager at Equinor, says: “The UK is a key market for Equinor and we have a history of delivering significant energy provision along its East Coast, transitioning from traditional oil and gas demand to include renewables and low carbon options such as CCS and hydrogen.

"This is a major step for both Equinor and the UK, helping to decarbonise the country’s industrial heartlands and achieve its net zero ambitions whilst providing jobs and supply chain opportunities.

“We look forward to working with the government to deliver further low carbon projects across the UK including in the Humber and in Scotland.” 

Additionally, NEP has secured government approval for preliminary development engineering of the Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline (HCCP), which will transport CO₂ from upcoming carbon capture projects in the Humber region.

This is a vital component of Equinor’s broader 2030 corporate goal, which includes a 50% reduction in operated emissions and a commitment to invest half of its gross capital expenditure in low carbon and renewable technologies.

In their continued journey towards a more sustainable energy landscape, initiatives like these underscore a robust commitment to innovating in the low carbon technology field, significantly enhancing the UK's carbon capture capabilities and buttressing its renewable energy infrastructure.

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