UK firm on the lookout for new partner in North Sea CCS project

As Harbour Energy plans to head for the exit, the AIM-listed Synergia Energy is going on the hunt for another partner to join its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the UK sector of the North Sea.

After a preliminary front end engineering design (pre-FEED) study and the award of a carbon storage license, the UK player confirmed in May 2024 the receipt of expressions of interest from multiple players regarding its Medway Hub Camelot CCS project, which is estimated to have a storage capacity between 70 and 100 million tons of CO2.

The company planned to offer up to half of its 50% interest in the CS019 license under a farm-out arrangement, subject to necessary regulatory approvals while retaining its designated operator role, as its joint venture (JV) partner, Wintershall Dea, held the remaining 50% interest in the CS019 Camelot carbon storage license in the UK Southern North Sea.

Following Harbour Energy’s acquisition of Wintershall Dea, the latter informed Synergia in November 2024 of its intention to withdraw from the Camelot joint operating agreement and the associated carbon storage license.

As a result, the Medway Hub CCS project operator has now started a search to identify a replacement JV partner. In the meantime, the firm will continue to progress with legacy well integrity studies. However, Synergia has decided to hit the pause button for all other non-essential technical work until there is progress on a replacement JV partner.

Roland Wessel, Synergia’s CEO, previously said: “The company believes the Medway Hub Camelot CCS project has significant technical and commercial merit and has the potential to make a material contribution towards the UK government’s net zero targets, with a target  storage rate of up to 6.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually.

”The company remains committed to progressing the project through to commercial operations and is pleased with the technical work undertaken to date on the project, which has reinforced its potential long term value to shareholders.”

Previously, the first CO2 injection for the Medway Hub CCS project was slated for 2032. The project is expected to involve carbon capture and storage of CO2 from three major CCGT power stations on the Isle of Grain near Rochester, Kent, encompassing CO2 extraction from the exhaust stream at Medway, Damhead, and Grain power stations.

This CCS development is designed to enable the capture and transportation of CO2 emissions from coastal combined-cycle gas turbine power stations in liquid form by marine tankers to a floating injection, storage, and offloading (FISO) vessel from which the CO2 will be injected into depleted gas fields and saline aquifers for permanent sequestration on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

Moreover, the liquid CO2 will be transported via tanker to Esmond and Forbes depleted gas fields for permanent storage. The UK disclosed a £20 billion (nearly $24.2 billion at the time) funding for CCS in 2023.

Britain also offered 20 carbon storage licenses in the first-ever CO2 storage licensing round, marking 13 areas off the UK’s coast as sites for permanently storing CO2. This has the potential to bury 30 million tons of CO2 annually by 2030.