Flying colors as UK’s first CO2 injection test crosses finish line

A joint venture of Perenco UK, Carbon Catalyst and Harbour Energy has concluded the UK’s first-ever CO2 injection test, carried out at a carbon capture and storage (CCS) license in the North Sea that encompasses what is deemed the UK’s largest depleted gas field.

The test started in February and included CO2 being injected into the depleted Leman natural gas field in the UK’s Southern North Sea from Petrodec’s ERDA rig, as part of Project Poseidon.

ERDA, said to be the first rig in the UK to have achieved an approved safety case for CO2 injection support, has now sailed away from the Leman 27H platform, marking the end of the test.

The test delivered to plan with a total of 15 injection cycles performed into the Leman gas field, mobilizing 11 CO2 offshore batch refills, Perenco said, emphasizing that the operational program was performed in a timely and safe manner, without injection issues and with the acquisition of an exceptional dataset.

“This test has met our expectations, both in terms of technical execution and the quality of data gathered. These insights are instrumental as we move to the next phase of developing the Poseidon Project,” said Armel Simondin, Perenco’s CEO.

“The successful test highlights the role our industry can play in the UK’s decarbonisation efforts. The Perenco CCS team and our joint venture partners are now fully focused on interpreting the results and converting new insights into an evidence-based development plan for Project Poseidon.”

Perenco and Carbon Catalyst secured a license to progress the Poseidon CCS project at the Leman gas fields in August 2023. In November of the same year, Wintershall Dea, whose upstream business assets and carbon storage licenses were purchased by Harbour Energy last year, came on board by buying a 10% interest from Carbon Catalyst.

The CCS project has an initial injection capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), rising to an ultimate capacity of 40 Mtpa, commencing in 2029.