Spirit Energy has been granted a carbon storage license by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), advancing the company’s plan to repurpose North and South Morecambe gas fields as a UK CCS hub (OGJ Online, Jan. 31, 2023).
The company’s planned MNZ (Morecambe Net Zero) Cluster—envisioned to accept CO2 transported by pipeline, ship, and rail—could potentially store up to a gigaton of carbon dioxide—the equivalent of 3 years’ worth of current UK CO2 emissions, the company said in a release May 18. The hub could initially store over 5 million tonnes/year (tpy) of CO2, with potential to scale to 25 million tpy.
Last month, Spirit Energy submitted a qualifying Expression of Interest for the MNZ Cluster to be considered as part of the government’s Track 2 CCUS Cluster Sequencing process and stands ready to invest over £1 billion in the project pending the outcome of the Track 2 process, said Chris O’Shea, chairman of Spirit Energy and chief executive officer of Centrica plc.
Spirit Energy shareholders are Centrica plc (69%) and Stadtwerke München GmbH SWM (31%).
The NSTA launched the UK’s first-ever carbon storage licensing round in June 2022, and offered awards for 20 carbon storage licenses at offshore sites, including some near Aberdeen Teeside, Liverpool, and Lincolnshire after receiving successful applications from 12 different companies, the regulator said in a May 18 release. In total, the 20 licenses account for about 12,000 sq km. First CO2 injection could come within a decade, the regulator said.