UK CCS project enters FEED phase as Technip Energies snatches contract

The Viking Link carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the UK has entered the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase with the award of the contract to Technip Energies.

Viking CCS, previously known as V Net Zero, is the Humber-based CO2 transportation and storage network led by UK oil and gas producer Harbour Energy with energy giant BP as partner. As per agreement from April 2023, Harbour owns a 60% interest in the project while BP owns a 40% non-operated share.

Technip Energies’ contract includes responsibility for the design of the CO2 transportation system and is seen as another important milestone for the project as it progresses its design, costs and schedule towards a final investment decision (FID), expected in the first quarter of 2025.

“We are proud to be supporting the UK’s transition to a more sustainable future. Our involvement in the Viking CCS project will help reduce the UK’s carbon emissions and emphasises our commitment to sustainable energy solutions,” said Charles Cessot, SVP T.EN X – Consulting and Products of Technip Energies.

Once operational, Viking CCS is expected to be one of the largest CCS projects in the world, aiming to capture and store 10m tonnes of CO2 a year by 2030, up to a third of the UK’s CCS target.

With an independently verified storage capacity of 300 million tonnes of CO2 across the depleted Viking gas fields, the project could potentially unlock up to £7 billion of investment across the full CO2 capture, transport and storage value chain between 2025 and 2035, and provide an estimated £4 billion of gross value add (GVA) to the Humber and its surrounding areas, Harbour Energy said.

“After 3 years in development, the Viking CCS project is now entering the FEED phase. This is a significant step in the journey of any project, and we are excited to welcome Technip Energies as the FEED contractor, paving the way for large-scale CCS in the South Humber and North Lincolnshire region,” said Jim Todd – BP JV Manager for Viking CCS.

“The Humber region has long been a global leader in the energy sector, and Viking CCS will help to protect around 20,000 jobs in local industries, while also creating up to 10,000 jobs during construction across all Cluster projects,” said Harbour Energy’s Viking CCS Project Director Graeme Davies.

The Viking CCS project has access to a planned new CO2 shipping terminal at Associated British Ports’ Port of Immingham, with the potential for shipped CO2 from dispersed emitters elsewhere in the UK and internationally to be transported for permanent storage within the Viking fields

At the end of 2023, Harbour Energy, BP, and Associated British Ports (ABP) entered into an exclusive commercial agreement with Cory Group for the transportation and storage of CO2 by ship. The alliance will focus on the transport and storage of shipped CO2 emissions originating from Cory’s energy-from-waste (EfW) facilities.