Eni UK, a subsidiary of Italy-headed oil and gas major Eni S.p.A, has announced that it has reached a total of 19 Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) signed with as many companies interested in the opportunity to have their emissions captured, transported, and stored in Eni UK’s depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs as part of HyNet North West project.
In January 2022 alone, Eni UK signed six of these agreements, demonstrating the “outstanding interest that UK industry has shown for the decarbonization potential” offered by the HyNet project, which benefits from the expertise and ideal location of Eni UK’s infrastructure for transportation and storage.
Once operational, the HyNet North West project will transform one of the most energy-intensive industrial districts in the UK into the world’s first low carbon industrial cluster.
In particular, the project will provide important support to the UK’s decarbonization process by contributing 100 percent to the 10 million tonnes per year of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage capacity and 80 percent to the 5 GW of low carbon hydrogen Government’s UK-wide targets set for 2030.
The agreements signed to date include hard-to-abate sectors and will play a crucial role in enabling decarbonization initiatives in the North West of England and North Wales industrial cluster.
Priority project
In October 2020, Eni UK was awarded a CO2 appraisal and storage license in Liverpool Bay to develop a CO2 storage site. In October 2021 the HyNet North West Cluster was selected by the UK Government as one of the two priority projects (Track 1 projects) out of five competing in the CCUS Cluster Sequencing Process.
Moreover, Eni UK has recently signed further agreements with Cory, Uniper, and the Cavendish Project to evaluate further solutions in terms of storage for the decarbonization of the UK’s industrial clusters.
Eni UK currently operates Liverpool Bay facilities in the East Irish Sea and the depleted Hewett gas field, located 19 miles off the Norfolk coast, which is currently in its decommissioning phase.
