UK CCS project enters construction phase with financial close now secured

Italy’s oil & gas giant Eni has reached financial close with the UK Government for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in northern England, now free to move to the construction phase.

Eni announced today, April 24, that it had reached financial close with the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) for the Liverpool Bay CCS project, where it is the operator of the CO2 transport and storage system (T&S) of the HyNet industrial Cluster.

The financial close allows the project to move into the construction phase, unlocking key investments in supply chain contracts, the majority of which will be spent locally.

The Liverpool Bay CCS project will operate as the backbone of the HyNet Cluster to transport CO2 from capture plants across North West of England and North Wales through new and repurposed infrastructure to permanent storage in Eni’s depleted natural gas reservoirs, located under the seabed in Liverpool Bay.

The project includes the repurposing of part of the offshore platforms as well as 149 kilometers of onshore and offshore pipelines, and the construction of 35 kilometers of new pipelines to connect industrial emitters to the Liverpool Bay CCS network.

UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, said: “Today we keep our promise to launch a whole new clean energy industry for our country – carbon capture and storage – to deliver thousands of highly skilled jobs and revitalise our industrial communities. This investment from our partnership with Eni is government working together with industry to kickstart growth and back engineers, welders and electricians through our mission to become a clean energy superpower. We are making the UK energy secure so we can protect families and businesses and drive jobs through our Plan for Change.”

The project is expected to create around 2,000 jobs in the construction phase. Commissioning is planned in 2028, in line with industrial emitters in the HyNet Cluster.

This financial decision follows the UK Government’s funding allocation of £21.7 billion to be invested over a 25-year period across the first two CCS Clusters in the country.