Liverpool Bay is now home to the world’s first offshore platform dedicated to carbon capture and storage and will service a controversial multi-billion pound carbon capture project. Tony McDonough reports
Eni CCUS Holding has installed what it says is the world’s first offshore platform dedicated to carbon capture and storage in Liverpool Bay.
This will enable CO2 emissions captured as part of the controversial multi-billion pound HyNet project to be stored indefinitely in rock in depleted gas fields in the Irish Sea.
This platform was delivered in less than 18 months from contract award following an accelerated programme integrating engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning.
Called Douglas CCS, it comprises 1,885-tonne topside facilities, a supporting jacket structure weighing 1,755 tonnes and eight foundation piles with a combined weight of 730 tonnes, which secure the structure to the seabed.
HyNet, which comprises a consortium of businesses, will produce hydrogen for industrial use by burning natural gas at a facility being built at the Stanlow oil refinery in Ellesmere Port.
Instead of being released into the atmosphere, the CO2 produced by the gas will be captured and sent to Liverpool Bay via a pipeline through North Wales. It is being backed by billions of pounds of Government cash and will likely be operational in 2028.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a controversial method and some experts doubt it is achievable to the required standard at this scale and is merely a way to prolong the use of fossil fuels.
Even more controversial than HyNet is the £5bn Peak Cluster project, also being heavily backed by the Government. This will see the building of a 125-mile CCS pipeline to carry CO2 from cement and lime producers in Derbyshire and Staffordshire.
Similar to HyNet, Peak Cluster will store the CO2 emissions under the Irish Sea. In Wirral there has been huge public opposition to the pipeline which campaigners claim will cause significant environmental damage to the peninsula’s rural landscape. However, this new platform is not part of Peak Cluster.
Installation of Douglas CCS forms part of a wider construction programme that is progressing across the entire Liverpool Bay CCS network, which is now approximately 50% complete.
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Around 60% of the overall project expenditure from the investment is delivered through UK-based supply chains, supporting more than 2,000 jobs during construction and approximately 200 to 300 long-term roles over more than 25 years of operation.
Eni CCUS Holding is based in London and is owned jointly by Italian outfit Eni and Global Infrastructure Partners, part of BlackRock.