Carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, is the name given to a combination of technologies that capture and store carbon dioxide deep underground, preventing its release into the atmosphere. Learn about the CCS projects Shell is working on in the UK.
Building our CCS capability
15 September 2023 update: Shell UK and Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited (Esso) have been awarded three carbon storage appraisal licences in the UK’s first-ever carbon storage licensing round.
The three licensed areas, which cover the Sean and Indefatigable gas fields and a saline aquifer off the coast from Humberside, were awarded by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) in a licensing round that began in June 2022.
Shell UK and Esso will now evaluate these areas and potentially develop them into sites where carbon captured and transported from industrial facilities can be safely and permanently stored, subject to future regulatory approvals and financial investment decisions. Both Shell UK and Esso will hold a 50% interest.
David Bunch, Shell UK Country Chair“For more than 50 years, the Southern North Sea has been the heartland of a booming gas industry, powering homes and businesses across the UK. Now we enter a new phase, where these fields and aquifers can be repurposed to store CO2 to help combat climate change. Both Shell and the UK aim to be net zero by 2050, and the award of these licences is a step towards that.”
Bernhard Koudelka, Shell Vice President CCS“We welcome the award of these new CCS licences from the NSTA. The potential for increased storage capacity will help UK CCS projects provide a pathway for industries to decarbonize as rapidly as possible. Developing and delivering CCS projects will pave the way to re-purposing this knowledge for a new low-carbon industry.”
Shell is part of a number of CCS projects in the UK:
1. The Acorn Project:
In Scotland, Shell UK is a partner of the Acorn Project, in partnership with Storegga, Harbour Energy, and North Sea Midstream Partners. Acorn is working to provide the critical transport and storage infrastructure that will help Scottish industry decarbonise, including Shell’s St Fergus Gas Terminal. Acorn Project could contribute around a third of the UK’s carbon storage target of up to 30 million tonnes a year by 2030. In July 2023, Acorn was awarded Track-2 status in the UK Government’s cluster sequencing process, which aims to deploy CCS at 4 industrial clusters by 2030. Find out more via the Acorn Project website.
2. South Wales Industrial Cluster:
In the South Wales, Shell is part of the South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC), a group looking to decarbonise the region using, amongst other technologies, CCS. South Wales is the second largest industrial emitter in the UK, releasing the equivalent of 16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year across industry and energy generation and so the SWIC project could help to significantly reduce emissions and improve air quality in the area. Find out more via the SWIC website.
Global CCS projects
Shell’s CCS projects around the world
As well as the role we’re playing in developing CCS projects in the UK, Shell is also at the forefront of developing CCS technology globally.
Top questions about CCS
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Shell in the UK
As the UK moves towards its target of net-zero emissions by 2050, Shell UK aims to play a leading role.
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