UK Poseidon CCS project to start first offshore CO2 injection tests by end 2024

The planned Poseidon carbon capture and storage project in the UK's Southern North Sea will start offshore injection tests in early December, storage license holder Perenco said June 19.

The test injection will last for three months, Perenco group carbon capture and storage manager Louis Hannecart said at the CCS Strategy Europe conference in London.

The project partners, which also include Carbon Catalyst and Wintershall Dea, aim to take a final investment decision in 2028, Hannecart said.

The partners are currently preparing the injection test, he said.

Poseidon will store up to 40 million mt/year CO2 in its full development stage, with operations planned to start by 2029, and total storage capacity of 1 billion mt of CO2.

CO2 will be transported via the Perenco-operated Bacton gas terminal to the offshore storage site in the Leman gas field, around 65 km off the coast. The storage site comprises depleted reservoirs and saline aquifers.

The project plans to store CO2 from emitters across the east and southeast of England.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed tech carbon capture credits at $125/mt June 19.

Industry sources at the CCS Strategy Europe conference said CCS costs in Europe were in the range of Eur130-150/mt ($140-$161/mt).

By contrast, Platts assessed EU Emissions Trading System nearest December allowances at Eur70.43/mt ($75.70/mt) on June 19, while UK Emissions Trading Scheme nearest December allowances were just GBP49.31/mt ($62.71/mt).

The UK's North Sea Transition Authority announced in September the 21 CO2 storage licenses accepted by 14 companies under the country's first CO2 storage licensing round.

The UK is targeting 20 million-30 million mt/year of CO2 storage by 2030, rising to over 50 million mt/year by 2035.