Xodus Group ES helps Northern Endurance Partnership CCS project reach financial close
A key planning document, developed by Xodus Group, helped to pave the way for a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) project to become the UK’s first to reach financial close.
In October, the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, agreed to the grant of consent for the Northern Endurance Partnership Environmental Statement.
This decision opened the door for the award of the first ever UK carbon storage permit by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) in December, followed by the NEP and shareholders, Equinor, bp and TotalEnergies announcing financial close on the UK's first carbon capture and storage projects.
The Environmental Statement (ES), delivered by global energy consultancy Xodus over the course of two years, is the first ES for a CCS project in the UK to have reached this stage.
NEP is a project of major importance to the UK’s net zero ambitions. The ES was a novel undertaking for Xodus, covering offshore CO2 transportation and storage scopes for onshore Teesside-based carbon capture projects.
“This is a major milestone, not just for the Northern Endurance Partnership but for the UK’s carbon capture and storage sector as a whole,” said Steve Swindell, CEO of Xodus. “Never before has a development like this reached such an advanced stage, and I would like to thank the Xodus team for all their work in delivering an Environmental Statement of the highest order, as well as to bp for allowing us to play our part in this vital project.”
Contained in the ES is an assessment of the offshore elements of NEP, including the installation of 145 km of pipeline, and the drilling and installation of wells that will enable injection of CO2 into the Endurance reservoir.
The work was delivered by an integrated team across bp and Xodus, and drew on different disciplines from across Xodus, including Xodus’ Geohazards division in the U.S. which supported with the analysis of geophysical data.
NEP expects to commence construction from the middle of 2025 with start-up expected in 2028. The infrastructure will transport and permanently store up to an initial 4 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
