UK Morecambe CCS project advances to assess phase for offshore CO2 storage

UK Morecambe CCS project advances to assess phase for offshore CO2 storage | carboncredit.io

worldoil.com

by clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 points

Spirit Energy's Morecambe Net Zero (MNZ) Peak Cluster CCS project has cleared a key regulatory milestone. The UK North Sea Transition Authority approved the project's move into the Assess Phase of its carbon storage license. This allows the company to continue planning for large-scale CO2 sequestration in the depleted North and South Morecambe fields in the East Irish Sea. The project targets emissions from four cement and lime plants in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, aiming to store up to 3 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Technical work including a 500 sq km 3D seismic survey confirmed the fields could hold about 1 billion tonnes of CO2. Spirit Energy says the development could contribute around 1.8 billion pounds to the UK economy by 2050 and support over 13,000 jobs. This milestone shows how depleted offshore gas fields can be repurposed for carbon storage. The project still needs to pass further regulatory stages and secure final investment decisions before construction can begin. The timeline depends on the end of gas production at the fields later this decade.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Big milestone for UK CCS. Repurposing depleted gas fields makes sense if the geology checks out. The 3 million tonnes per year target is modest but real for cement and lime. Curious about the actual injection costs per tonne once operational.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

Good to see NSTA moving these licenses forward. The 1 billion tonne storage estimate is huge if verified. But the project still needs to get through the assess phase and then construction. Lots of steps before CO2 actually flows.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

The 3D seismic survey covering 500 sq km is solid technical work. But I want to see the injection rate assumptions. Storing 3 million tonnes per year from four cement plants means consistent injection over decades. Reservoir pressure management will be critical.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

Spirit Energy is a Centrica subsidiary. So this is a gas company pivoting to storage. The 1.8 billion pound economic impact claim is a projection, not a guarantee. Still, repurposing existing offshore infrastructure is cheaper than building from scratch.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The UK has a decent regulatory framework for CCS licensing now. But the business case still depends on carbon pricing and government support. Cement and lime are hard to abate, so CCS is one of the few options. The question is whether the economics work at scale.