The UK government has made a substantial commitment, pledging up to GBP20bn (USD25.6bn), to support the deployment of two carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) projects in the regions of Humber and northern Scotland, as reported by Yahoo News on July 31. Harbour Energy [HBR:LN], a UK-based oil and gas company, will be at the helm of both projects, operating the Humber-based Viking project and participating in the Acorn project in northern Scotland. These CCUS projects will focus on reusing legacy oil and gas infrastructure to transport captured industrial CO2 emissions to a depth of 2.5 kilometers under the North Sea for permanent storage.

Harbour Energy envisions significant potential for its Viking project in Humber, aiming to transport and store up to 10 million tons of CO2 annually by 2030 and 15 million tons annually by 2035. Moreover, the depleted Viking gas fields offer a total storage capacity of 300 million tons. These two projects play a crucial role in helping the UK meet its target of capturing 30 million tons of CO2 annually by 2030. Moreover, the Viking project carries immense promise for the Humber region, known as the most carbon-intensive industrial region in the UK. By unlocking up to GBP7bn of investment in the CO2 capture, transport, and storage value chain between 2025 and 2035, the project is expected to create over 10,000 jobs during the  construction phase.

Sources:

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/rishi-sunak-backs-drax-carbon-125251099.html

https://www.oedigital.com/news/506865-uk-gov-t-to-support-acorn-ccs-viking-co2-transportation-projects