© Supplied by Eni 
The UK government and Italian energy firm Eni have signed a deal for financial support for its Liverpool Bay carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.
Eni made the announcement during the UK government’s Summit on the Future of Energy Security, organised alongside the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The Liverpool Bay CCS project is the focal point for the wider HyNet North West decarbonisation scheme.
Eni said the agreement of financial terms with the UK government will allow the project to move into the construction phase and “support the UK’s industrial competitiveness for the long term”.
The agreement comes after the UK government last year pledged close to £22 billion towards the HyNet and East Coast Cluster CCS projects over 25 years.
UK energy secretary Ed Miliband said the partnership with Eni will “kickstart growth” and support jobs in the region.
“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,” Miliband said.
Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi said CCS will play a “crucial role in tackling the decarbonisation challenge”.
“The strategic agreement with the UK Government paves the way for the industrial-scale development of CCS, a sector in which the United Kingdom reaffirms its leadership thanks to the promotion of a regulatory framework that aims to strengthen the development of CCS and make it fully competitive in the market,” Descalzi said.
Liverpool Bay CCS and HyNet
Under the HyNet plans, industrial emissions will be captured and transported for storage via Eni’s Douglas CCS platform in the Liverpool Bay.
The project involves repurposing the existing offshore natural gas import pipeline from Point of Ayr gas into a 38-mile CO2 export pipeline.
The captured carbon will be transported to a newly built CCS platform at the Douglas field before transferral for injection into depleted oil and gas reservoirs at the Hamilton Main, Hamilton North and Lennox platforms.
Based in the north west of England, HyNet was selected as one of the two Track-1 CCUS clusters to receive funding from the UK government in November 2021 alongside the East Coast Cluster.
© HyNetThe deal with Eni comes after the UK government gave approval to the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) CCS project, part of the East Coast Cluster, in December last year.
North Sea operators Equinor, BP and TotalEnergies are behind the NEP project, which will see industrial emissions captured in Teesside and the Humber for transport and storage at the Endurance field.
The approvals come after the government last year pledged nearly £22 billion for the Track 1 projects over the next 25 years.
HyNet North West
Industries set to make use of CO2 storage through HyNet include cement, construction materials, oil refining, recycling and waste management, low carbon hydrogen and waste-to-energy generation.
Eni expects to be able to store 10Mtpa of CO2 before the end of the decade.
The project backers, including EET Hydrogen and Viridor, estimate HyNet will contribute up to £17bn in economic benefits.
Alongside the HyNet and East Coast Cluster, the industry is also progressing the Acorn CCS project in Scotland and the Viking CCS project in the Humber under the Track-2 process.
In 2024, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) regulator also finalised its first ever offshore carbon storage licensing round for future CCS projects.
NSTA chief executive Stuart Payne said the financial close between Eni and the UK government on the HyNet project represents “another major step on the way to turning this country’s ambitions for carbon storage into reality”.
“It’s been a collaborative mission and demonstrates the way we must all work together to unlock the UK’s vast potential to tackle climate change and deliver energy security,” he said.
