The UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has issued a development consent order (DCO) for the HyNet North West CO2 pipeline.
This authorizes the construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure to transport captured CO2 from industrial areas in northwest England and north Wales as part of the HyNet CCS (carbon capture and storage) cluster. Eni is the transportation and storage operator.
It follows the completion of an 18-month determination process after Eni’s submission of the DCO application in October 2022. The company now expects to take FID on the HyNet CCS cluster by September 2024.
The CO2 pipeline will transport the captured CO2 through new and repurposed infrastructure for storage in depleted natural gas reservoirs beneath the seabed in Liverpool Bay.
Eni CEO Claudio Descalz said, “This decision marks a significant step toward establishing a significant new industry for the country and consolidates Eni’s leading position providing a service to decarbonize both its own and third parties’ industrial activities at a competitive cost and with a fast time to market.
“This position was further reinforced following our acquisition of Neptune Energy, which gives Eni access to three additional CO2 storage licenses for a total gross storage capacity of about 1 GT in the UK.”
The company also leads the Bacton Thames Net Zero project, which targets decarbonization facilities in southeast England and the Thames region around London.
Eni plans to apply its experience of developing and operating natural gas fields over decades to repurpose some of its existing facilities as CO2 storage hubs.
Its transportation and storage system at HyNet will have a capacity of 4.5 MMmt/year of CO2 in the first phase, potential rising to 10 MMmt after 2030.