Offshore survey on schedule for UK’s first carbon storage permit

A geophysical offshore survey is scheduled to start next month at the first-ever carbon storage permit in the UK, being developed by a joint venture between BP, Equinor and TotalEnergies.

The geophysical offshore survey for the Northern Endurance Project (NEP) is expected to begin on March 4, taking approximately four weeks to complete.

Gardline’s special service survey vessel Ocean Reliance will perform the work, transiting from the port of Hull to the survey area. The 85.4-meter-long vessel was built in 1987 and reconfigured in 2012.

The project secured the UK’s first-ever carbon storage permit from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) at the beginning of December 2024, allowing Net Zero North Sea Storage Limited, an incorporated joint venture between BP, Equinor and TotalEnergies, to start installing infrastructure on the site. At that time, the partners also reached the financial close.

Located around 75 kilometers east of Flamborough Head, off Teesside on England’s east coast, NEP is expected to enter construction in mid-2025, first injection could come as early as 2027, and start up in 2028.

With a permitted injection rate of 4 million tonnes annually, averaged over a duration of 25 years, this could reach a total of 100 million tonnes.

The infrastructure will initially serve three carbon capture projects in the Teesside region, including NZT Power, H2Teesside and Teesside Hydrogen CO2 Capture. This includes an onshore CO2 gathering network, compression facilities and a 145-kilometer offshore pipeline connected to subsea injection facilities in the Endurance saline aquifer located around 1,000 meters below the seabed.

BP, who is the operator, and Equinor each have 45% stakes, while 10% is held by TotalEnergies.