Trio enriches offshore electrification of oil & gas assets in UK and Norway with carbon capture

Three players – Amplus Energy, EnQuest’s Veri Energy, and Ocean-Power – have embarked on a decarbonization mission to bring offshore electrification operations to new heights in the UK and Norway by throwing carbon capture solutions into the mix to curb oil and gas installations’ carbon footprint.

To this end, the trio signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together toward significantly lowering carbon emissions of petroleum activities by transforming the offshore energy sector through Veri Energy’s provision of a carbon store to support the deployment of Ocean-Power’s approach to generating electricity offshore from externally sourced natural gas with integrated carbon capture technology.

The trio claims that the generated electricity will be sent from the generation hub in the UK Northern North Sea to several nearby oil and gas installations in Britain and Norway, providing a source of power that has been described as reliable, cost-competitive, and low in carbon intensity.

According to the partners, this approach will avoid the complexity and challenges of connecting to grid infrastructure. The captured CO2, which is anticipated to be up to 1 million tonnes per annum, will be transported a short distance to Veri Energy’s planned carbon storage hub for permanent sequestration.

“Veri Energy are delighted to have been selected as the carbon storage partner for Ocean-Power’s power generation and carbon capture offering which further underpins Veri Energy’s ambition to be a key player in the UK’s carbon storage landscape, driving the energy transition and contributing to global climate goals,” underlined the firm.

The company holds four carbon storage licenses and plans to leverage the experience of its parent company, EnQuest, in operating complex infrastructure assets, and working with stakeholder groups to move towards a net zero carbon future.

The firm seeks to repurpose existing infrastructure around the Sullom Voe Terminal, encompassing the 200 km East of the Shetland pipeline to develop CO2 reception and storage facilities capable of receiving and securely storing up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually from isolated emitters in the UK, Europe, and beyond.

This comes months after Amplus Energy, as part of a joint venture with Versatile Group (VG Energy), teamed up with Carbon Circle to enable marginal oil and gas fields in West Africa to achieve their full untapped potential and assist in stepping up the carbon capture game.