Eni announces that its subsidiary in the United Kingdom (Eni UK) has been awarded a Carbon Dioxide Appraisal and Storage Licence (CS Licence) by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) for the depleted Hewett gas field located 20 km offshore from Bacton, in the Southern North Sea sector of UK.

Its significant total storage capacity of around 300 million tons, the possibility to reuse part of its associated infrastructure, and its proximity to the Bacton industrial cluster, makes Hewett an ideal site to permanently store carbon dioxide from industries in the south-east of England and the Thames estuary area, near London, and to promote blue hydrogen production and distribution in line with the UK’s decarbonisation plans and targets.

The realisation of the project will generate important effects on the local communities creating new job opportunities and fostering the economic development of the area. As of today, the Bacton Thames Net Zero initiative has already attracted 13 industrial partners, through a cooperation agreement, in sectors such as energy, waste disposal and manufacturing. The initial CO2 storage capacity is estimated at around 6 million tons per year starting at the end of the current decade and will be progressively increased to over 10 million tons after 2030, making a significant contribution towards the UK’s target ambition to store 20-30 million tons per year of CO2.

This new licence in the Bacton Area comes in addition to the one obtained in the Liverpool Bay Area in 2020, where Eni is the carbon dioxide transport and storage operator for the HyNet North West Project, and with the implementation of other initiatives such as the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm it will further strengthen Eni’s leading role in contributing to the decarbonisation process of the United Kingdom.  

KeyFacts Energy: Eni UK country profile   l   KeyFacts Energy: Carbon Capture news