Testing underway on UK's first CO2 capture and storage project

The UK’s first carbon dioxide (CO2) injection test has begun at a depleted natural gas reservoir in the UK’s southern North Sea.

The Project Poseidon joint venture (JV) companies are currently conducting the CO2 injection test from the Erda rig, newly equipped with the injection test facilities. Petrodec’s Erda is the first rig in the UK to have achieved an approved safety case for CO2 injection support, according to the JV.

The Poseidon project’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) site test aims to deliver critical research and development data for the permanent geological storage of CO2. A carbon storage licence awarded by the UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) allowed the Poseidon project to commence above the Leman field in the UK’s southern North Sea. The injection test also follows the UK government’s recent pledge of approximately £22Bn (US$27Bn) for CCS through the funding of two carbon capture sites. 

"The start of the test follows months of preparatory work, which included the successful conclusion of the workover of the well, a former gas producer, and entailed a new completion specifically designed for the CO2 injection test," the JV said in a statement.

According to the JV, the CO2 injection test has the potential to ’unlock’ the Poseidon Carbon Capture and Storage project, which has an initial injection capacity of 1.5M tonnes per annum (mta), rising to an ultimate capacity of 40 mta in 2029.

Commenting on the start of the injection test, Perenco UK general manager Jo White commented, “As the first test of its kind in the UK, today’s news is a key moment, not only for Perenco and the wider Project Poseidon Joint Venture, but also for the UK’s decarbonisation ambitions. If successful, the project could be a significant store for CO2 in the future, playing a key role in decarbonising industrial emitters and helping the UK achieve its net-zero objectives. I would like to extend our thanks for the support to date from the NSTA and congratulate our industry partners, including Petrodec, and the Perenco team in getting the project to this important stage.”

Perenco UK and partners Carbon Catalyst and Harbour Energy make up the Project Poseidon joint venture group.