Award of new carbon storage licences in North Sea to St Fergus project is hailed
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MP David Duguid has hailed the Acorn CCS Project at St Fergus as being at the “forefront of the UK’s long-term energy security” after it was awarded new carbon storage licences in the North Sea.
The announcement comes after the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) confirmed the 14 winning companies who secured 21 CCS licences.
Initially planned to store carbon in the former Goldeneye gas field operated by Shell, the development will now also include two new CO2 stores: Acorn East and East Mey.
The announcement will increase Acorn’s capacity, enabling the project to store around 240 million tonnes of CO2 in total.
The UK estimates some 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 storage per year will be needed by 2030 to meet net zero targets, and more than 50 million tonnes per year by 2035.
Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid accompanied the Prime Minister to St Fergus Gas Terminal near Peterhead in July after Rishi Sunak announced the selection of the Acorn Project as one of the four CCUS clusters to be delivered in the UK by the end of this decade.
Storegga estimates around 21,000 jobs will be supported at the peak of the project, which is partnered with Shell, Harbour Energy and North Sea Midstream Partners.
On the award of new carbon storage licences for the Aberdeenshire project, Mr Duguid said: “The award of these licences to Acorn will be imperative for our transition to clean energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining our security of supply.
“This progress shows what can be achieved by the strength and scale of UK collective action, in defending against the disruption to global energy supplies which have been weaponised by Putin.
“I hope this announcement, along with the UK Government’s ongoing commitment to this project, will encourage the SNP to provide more detail on the £80 million of Scottish Government funding that they said was 'on the table' but has since yet to materialise.
“The Acorn Project is hugely important to my constituency, Scotland and the UK in helping to create and support highly-skilled jobs and deliver our decarbonisation objectives.”
