Harbour Energy, operator of the Humber-based Viking CO2 transportation and storage network and partner in the Acorn CCS project in northeast Scotland, welcomes the news that both projects have been awarded Track 2 status as part of the UK Government’s CCS cluster sequencing process.
This announcement marks an important milestone for the two projects, allowing them to move into front end engineering and design (FEED) and discussions with the government over the terms of the economic licences, ahead of final investment decisions.
Viking has the potential to transport and store up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030 and 15 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2035 with an independently verified storage capacity of 300 million tonnes of CO2 across the depleted Viking gas fields. The project could be transformational for the Humber region, potentially unlocking up to GBP 7bn of investment across the full CO2 capture, transport, and storage value chain between 2025 and 2035, creating over 10,000 jobs during construction and providing an estimated GBP 4bn of gross value add (GVA) to the Humber and its surrounding areas.
The Viking CCS project can also enable, through our work with Associated British Ports at the Port of Immingham, the potential for shipped CO2 from dispersed emitters elsewhere in the UK and internationally to be transported for permanent storage within the Viking fields, creating a new industry for the UK.
