Another step closer for offshore nuclear power

Viaro, via its operating subsidiary RockRose Energy, owns stakes in gas and oil production fields and assets on the UK Continental Shelf, in the southern and central sectors and west of Shetland, and in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, following a combination of strategic investments in exploration opportunities and mature producing fields.

Terrestrial Energy will be building an IMSR fuel pilot plant in Preston, UK after signing a contract with Springfields Fuels, a subsidiary of Westinghouse, in August 2023. Viaro thinks this would support the fuel supply for IMSR development and for its own project.

The IMSR plant uses standard-assay, low-enriched uranium, enriched to below 5% uranium-235, which is used in conventional nuclear power plants and is the only fuel available and transportable today for civilian reactor use that has international regulatory acceptance.

Its use supports an early deployment path for IMSR plants across multiple sectors in the US and European markets.

This is not the first venture into nuclear power for Viaro. In Q4 2023, the organisation signed an MoU with newcleo to install advanced modular reactors (AMR) to support the decarbonisation of the oil and gas sector. 

These fourth-generation reactors use nuclear waste as fuel to generate around 200 MW of electrical power each. Newcleo is developing lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) technology which is suitable for a wide range of locations due to its intrinsic safety and compact characteristics.

RockRose Energy’s interests in producing fields are all non operating, except for the Anning and Somerville developments, where it will assume operatorship of the fields prior to first gas: the company’s first operator role since being acquired by Viaro Energy in 2023.

The subsidiary’s operating infrastructure will be vastly increased in the near future after Viaro reached an agreement with Shell and ExxonMobil to acquire 100% of the Shell-operated UK southern North Sea assets owned by the two supermajors.

Viaro will also assume full ownership of one of the largest and longest-producing gas asset portfolios on the UK Continental Shelf, including 11 operated offshore assets and an exploration prospect (Shamrock, Caravel, Corvette, Brigantine, Leman, Galleon, Skiff, Carrack Main, Cutter, Carrack East, Barque and Clipper).

Production from these assets was 28,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023, representing around 5% of UK total gas production.

There are also plans to upgrade assets in the Easington Catchment Area, off the Humber Estuary, with low-emissions power technology.

RockRose is a non-operating partner at several other assets in the Dutch sector where energy companies are looking at asset extensions, satellite field developments and reducing emissions.

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