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1 hour ago 2 min read
Geological storage must be a necessary condition for continued fossil fuel extraction in the North Sea, according to leading UK academics.
Professors from the universities of Oxford, Aberdeen, Bristol, and Imperial College London have co-signed a letter to the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero calling for North Sea oil and gas licences to be conditional on carbon storage obligations.
Attaching storage to licences would offer the prospect of ‘net zero-aligned production’.
“A storage obligation on licensees would help unlock private capital needed for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) at a scale public funding alone is unlikely to match, allowing government to step back from a direct subsidising role sooner,” the letter states.
“The public funds made available could instead support high-priority investments such as home insulation and low-carbon energy infrastructure.”
The UK government is currently deciding whether to license the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields.
The CCS potential for both fields involves aligning their operational emissions into planned UK regional storage hubs, such as the in Aberdeenshire.
Rosebank could require up to 2.5 million tonnes of CO₂ a year to be captured during its peak phase.
Myles Allen, Professor at the University of Oxford, Department of Physics, said those who want to add their signature to the letter can do so .
The British Geological Survey has identified in the Central North Sea that could play a significant role in helping the UK meet its long-term CCS targets.
