More sustainable and closely coordinated seabed management aim of new UK agreement

UK regulator North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) and The Crown Estate, manager of the seabed and renewable energy rights within the economic zone in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, have signed a new Statement of Intent as part of joint aspirations to ensure a more sustainable and closely coordinated management of the seabed, with the realization of carbon storage potential in the North Sea being the main focus point, including maximizing the coexistence potential of different technologies.

The purpose is to build on close collaboration and proactively share data where possible, enabling marine development and supporting a coordinated approach to carbon storage leasing and licensing.

The approach is expected to support UK CCUS developments and help meet carbon storage targets while considering other energy sectors, marine industries, sea users and the natural environment.

Shared data will include spatial information such as GIS maps and coordinates of areas under consideration for leasing or licensing.

Common priorities include helping meet the UK’s net zero and decarbonization targets, including net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; working together towards coordinated carbon storage leasing and licensing; maximizing seabed potential by identifying opportunities for colocation and coexistence through activities and collaborative actions, including the Offshore Wind and CCUS Co-location Forum; as well as addressing relevant key challenges facing marine industries and the environment.

The partners also aim to make the best use of available data and evidence, sharing data to support the coordination of respective activities; work together and with other partners to improve the evidence base, identifying gaps and commissioning studies where relevant to support scientifically sound, evidence-based decision making; identify opportunities to accelerate the digital maturity of the offshore energy sector; and ensure data is efficiently delivered and hosted on relevant platforms with minimal duplication and consistent standards where appropriate to promote data sharing.

The identified common challenges include addressing co-location challenges between key sectors, including assessing technical viability, in an increasingly busy sea space; supporting UK CCUS developments and helping meet carbon storage targets while considering other energy sectors; clarifying the respective roles of The Crown Estate and the NSTA to ensure understanding and alignment; and accelerating data and digital maturity, maintaining consistent data quality and addressing evidence gaps to ensure lesson learned inform future work.

Besides setting out common priorities and challenges, the Statement of Intent outlines several joint actions, including implementing a data-sharing agreement, working together and with other relevant bodies to drive coordinated action across sectors, agencies, and the UK, collaborating on CCUS development, identifying and addressing challenges to coordinated seabed use, and strengthening the evidence base for decision-making.

While not legally binding, the agreement represents a shared commitment to fostering sustainable marine development and supporting the UK’s energy transition and builds on a previous agreement from 2022.