Euroil: UK CCS plans take shape

Clean energy developer Storegga has brought on board Royal Dutch Shell and Harbour Energy as equal-equity partners at its Acorn carbon, capture and storage (CCS) project in Aberdeenshire.

The group expect to launch the project in the mid-2020s, with its annual CO2 storage capability reaching 5mn tonnes per year (tpy) by the end of the decade. The partners have not said when they anticipate taking a final investment decision (FID), however.

France’s Total had also been expected to participate in the venture, but decided not to commit as part of efforts to rationalise its clean technology portfolio.

Acorn, situated at the St Fergus gas terminal near Peterhead, is set to use existing oil and gas infrastructure to inject and trap CO2 under the North Sea bed. It will also produce blue hydrogen arriving from offshore fields, helping further decarbonise industry in the area.

In other news, Royal Dutch Shell has asked its shareholders to back its energy transition strategy at its upcoming annual general meeting on May 18, while admitting that there is a risk that some of its current oil and gas will be left stranded.

The oil major is striving to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, partly by reducing its oil production and refining operations and expanding in LNG, electricity and hydrogen. It will also look to build up its biofuels and offshore wind activities.

The vote on the strategy is only advisory and non-binding, although the opinion of its shareholders carries significant weight. Shell noted that this was the first time it had asked shareholders to vote on its decarbonisation plans.

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