Synergia Energy and Wintershall Dea are advancing carbon capture and storage (CCS) activities in the Southern North Sea. The operator has been granted a new license by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) for the Camelot area, where annual CO2 storage potential is estimated to be up to 6 million tonnes, the company said in a release Aug. 15.
"We are pleased to be maturing this project and thus adding another essential puzzle piece to a European CO2 infrastructure, utilizing our expertise from our CCS projects in Norway and Denmark,” said Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Dea's chief technology officer, and member of the executive board.
The Camelot area is a combination of depleted gas fields and an overlying saline aquifer. Wintershall Dea will hold a 50% interest. Synergia will serve as project operator in the appraisal phase with the other 50% interest.
The work program will be developed and managed by Wintershall Dea Carbon Management Solutions UK. The entity was established in August 2022 to assess and implement carbon management projects in the UK sector of the North Sea.
CO2 storage could potentially begin in 2030, Wintershall said.
The NSTA expects to award over 100 licenses on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) in the next few years to fully exploit the offshore storage potential as part of a larger plan to decarbonize the energy system as well as heavy and energy intensive industries.