Eni SPA has been granted a development consent order (DCO) for the HyNet North West CO2 pipeline, allowing the construction, operation, and maintenance of infrastructure to transport captured CO2 as part of the HyNet CCS cluster, where Eni is the transportation and storage operator. A final investment decision is expected by September 2024.
The DCO was granted by the Secretary of State for the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the company said in a release Mar. 21.
The DCO is the first Anglo-Welsh cross border application for a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) to be granted a DCO by DESNZ and marks the completion of an 18-month determination process following Eni’s submission of the application in October 2022.
The HyNet CO2 pipeline will transport carbon dioxide from capture plants across the North West of England and North Wales through new and repurposed infrastructure to permanent storage in Eni’s depleted natural gas reservoirs under the seabed in Liverpool Bay (OGJ Online, Feb. 9, 2022).
Eni’s transportation and storage system at HyNet will have a capacity of 4.5 million tonnes/year (tpy) of CO2 in the first phase, with the potential to increase to up to 10 million tpy of CO2 after 2030.
