Wintershall Dea joins UK Poseidon CCS project

German oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea has joined the Poseidon carbon capture and storage project in the UK, the company said in a statement Nov. 14.

The project, which it is estimated will store 1 billion mt of CO2, is the second CCS development for the company in the UK, following an award for the Camelot CCS license.

Wintershall Dea acquired a 10% stake in the project from Carbon Catalyst. Perenco is the designated operator of the project, while Carbon Catalyst and Wintershall will hold non-operating positions, the company said.

"As an expert exploration and production company with over 60 years of experience in the North Sea and our growing CCS expertise from projects in Norway and Denmark, Wintershall Dea can contribute valuable subsurface and technical knowledge to this outstanding project," Wintershall UK Country Lead for Carbon Management and Hydrogen Matthias Pfeiffer said in the statement.

Poseidon will store up to 40 million mt/year CO2 in its full development stage, with operations planned to start by 2029.

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

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, Wintershall said. The storage site comprises depleted reservoirs and saline aquifers.

Wintershall has stakes in five offshore CCS licenses in three North Sea countries, it said.

Related Infographic: Direct air capture vs carbon capture and storage

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed tech carbon capture credits at $129/mt Nov. 13. Developers point to a wide range of commercial prices for projects from $75/mt to $220/mt, depending on proximity to infrastructure and the complexity of capturing the CO2 stream.

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.