A facility for the collection, shipping, and storage of CO2 emissions to be built at Stanlow oil refinery close to the River Mersey as part of a wider £2.8bn project. Tony McDonough reports

Stanlow Terminals has signed a memorandum of understanding with Eni UK to develop a carbon collection, shipping, and storage facility at Ellesmere Port.

They will work to evaluate the feasibility of an open-access CO2 transport and storage terminal on the site of Stanlow oil refinery. This will receive, gather and store CO2 from industrial emitters and other sources via shipping from multiple locations.

Once collected and stored at Stanlow, which is owned by oil giant Essar, the CO2 will be delivered to Eni UK’s carbon transport and storage infrastructures currently being developed in the North West.

It would be piped into depleted gas fields under Liverpool Bay. Essar is currently developing a carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant at Stanlow as part of the multi-billion pound HyNet hydrogen project.

CCS is a controversial technology that has yet to offer consistent results at scale. Many experts believe its popularity is a way of prolonging the use of fossil fuels.

However the UK Government is pinning great hopes on the production of hydrogen as part of its new zero plans. HyNet will see hydrogen produced at Stanlow by burning natural gas with the resultant CO2 emissions being captured and stored.

Essar is investing around £2.8m in its “energy transition” drive as it attempts to transform itself into a lower carbon business. Around £1.9bn of that will be invested in the North West, including at Stanlow.

This latest agreement follows Stanlow Terminal’s announcement of plans to also develop open access green ammonia facilities on the River Mersey.

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Essar says its transition programme will “play a major role in accelerating the UK’s low carbon transformation, supporting the Government’s decarbonisation policy and creating highly skilled employment opportunities at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse.”.

Eni UK is leading the development of carbon dioxide transport and storage for HyNet. It has developed experience in reservoir management over several decades.

The business intends to apply its skills to repurpose part of its existing upstream assets to store carbon dioxide in depleted fields in Liverpool Bay.