Euroil: Equinor backs world's first hydrogen power plant

Norwegian oil firm Equinor and UK utility SSE have teamed up to develop what would be the world’s first hydrogen-fired power plant in northern England.

The UK government is pushing for large-scale hydrogen development as a means of decarbonising some of the country’s most carbon-intensive industries. The Keadby hydrogen power station will be built in North Lincolnshire, helping to reduce emissions from the Humber region, the UK’s biggest industrial cluster. It will boast a 900-MW capacity and will run on 100% hydrogen, consuming a peak of 1,800 MW of the fuel.

Equinor and SSE are also planning to build the 900-MW gas-fired Keadby 3 power plant in Lincolnshire, fitted with carbon-capture technology to make its power clean. This captured CO2 would then be piped offshore for storage in the North Sea.

Formal consultation on the project was finished early this year, and the plan is to apply for development consent this spring. Equinor and SSE expect the station to be operational in 2027.

In other news, Royal Dutch Shell has shed its Norwegian small-scale LNG supply business Gasnor to Madrid-headquartered player Molgas, without disclosing the deal’s value.

Norske Shell will transfer its entire shareholding in Gasnor, along with all of its assets and staff. The sale, closed on the same day as its announcement, draws a line under Shell’s 15 years of involvement in the company. It became a partial owner in 2004 and acquired full ownership in 2012 for $74mn.

Shell also warned last week it expected to incur a $200mn loss to adjusted earnings in the first quarter from disruptions caused by an extreme cold snap in Texas in February. The major also estimates that the storm led to a cut in its production of 10,000-20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).

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