Eni UK launches Bacton Thames Net Zero cooperation agreement

Eni UK has announced the launch of the Bacton Thames Net Zero (BTNZ) Cooperation Agreement with the aim of decarbonising industrial processes in southeast England and the Thames Estuary area, by capturing and storing carbon dioxide.

The initiative will decarbonise a number of sectors including power generation and waste disposal, the company said in a statement.

The project will capture, transport, and store 6 million tonnes/year growing up to 10 million tonnes/year of carbon dioxide emitted from the Bacton, wider Thames Estuary and potentially north-west European regions into the Hewett depleted gas field. The gas field is located 20 miles off the North Norfolk Coast in the North Sea at a site with the capacity to store 330 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, Eni said.

For Hewett, Eni UK applied to the NSTA (North Sea Transition Authority) for a CO2 license storage in September. The license award announcement is expected within Q1 2023. The project is expected to be operational as early as 2027 and aims to support the UK Government’s net zero strategy, which targets capturing 20-30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year across the UK by 2030.

The BTNZ initiative has been convened by Eni UK, a leader in carbon transportation and storage development in the UK and is supported by members including Cadent, Cory, Enfinium, MVV Environment, Progressive Energy, Summit Energy Evolution (a Sumitomo Corporation Company), and North London Waste Authority.

Other companies included in the project include SSE Thermal, Interconnector and Fluxys. The participation of Interconnector and Fluxys reflects the potential opportunity for international transport of carbon dioxide, Eni said.

The company will play a pivotal role in the project and is already actively planning the transportation and storage of carbon dioxide from its partners to the depleted Hewett gas field.

Eni has extensive subsurface knowledge of the field, having operated in the region for many years, and has a successful track record in Carbon Capture and Storage thanks to its work in guiding the HyNet project in the Liverpool Bay area for which a Carbon Capture and Storage licence was awarded to Eni in 2020.