UK's Harbour Energy and BP agree to develop Viking carbon capture project

BP will acquire a 40% 'non-operated share' in the project, situated in the depleted Viking gas field of the Humber region

Harbour Energy says the UK has the potential to become a global leader in carbon capture and storage. Photo: Harbour Energy

Harbour Energy, Britain's largest oil and gas producer, has reached an agreement with BP to develop a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the south of the North Sea.

BP will acquire a 40 per cent “non-operated share” in the project, located in the depleted Viking gasfield, in the Humber region.

Harbour will continue as operator of Viking CCS with a 60 per cent interest.

The company said the UK has the potential to become a global leader in carbon capture and storage, a technology that removes carbon emissions from the atmosphere and stores them underground.

The Viking CCS project could play a key role, with the potential to deliver one third of the UK’s target of 30 million tonnes of CO2 capture by 2030.

Estimates suggest the delivery of Viking could unlock up to £7 billion of investment across the full CO2 capture, transport, and storage value chain over the next decade, creating more than 10,000 jobs during construction, and providing an estimated £4 billion of gross value add to Humber and surrounding areas.

Louise Kingham, senior vice-president for Europe and head of country ― UK at BP, said: “We're extremely excited to be joining Viking CCS, a project which can play an instrumental role in helping to decarbonise the UK and providing CO2 transport and storage as a service to emitters across industry sectors and geographies, including as a future CO2 shipping destination.”

The announcement follows the UK's recent decision to launch the “Track 2" cluster sequencing process for carbon capture and storage.

“We welcome the UK government's recent announcement about the launch of Track 2 and the addition of BP as a partner to this transformational project,” said Linda Cook, chief executive of Harbour Energy.

“Viking CCS has the potential to unlock billions of pounds of investment across the full CCS value chain and is crucial for the UK to meet its emissions reduction targets.”

Efforts to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and put it in underground storage have gathered pace across Europe over the past few years, as industries and governments seek to reduce emissions to meet their climate goals.

Harbour said the government recognised Viking CCS as one of the leading transport and storage system contenders for this process, and that a final investment decision on the project is expected next year, subject to the outcome of the Track 2 CCS.