Power company VPI has called for clarity to progress the Viking carbon capture and storage (CCS) project and help drive the future of heavy industries in the Humber.
VPI requested a signal from the UK government in its upcoming comprehensive spending review that it will be selected as an anchor emitter for the CCS project.
The group owns the nearly 1.3GW Immingham thermal power plant, which provides power to the Humber’s two large oil refineries.
VPI is planning to deploy a £1.5 billion carbon capture proposal, which will utilise Harbour Energy’s Viking CCS pipeline to transport carbon that will be buried in a depleted gas field in the North Sea.
VPI chief executive Jorge Pikunic said: “Carbon capture and storage provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn the Humber into a powerhouse of the future. If missed, it may not come again.
“For the last five years, public officials have worked tirelessly with industry to set in motion the development of Viking CCS, a unique carbon capture and storage network, here in the Humber.
“Proceeding with the next stage of Viking CCS now will demonstrate how a strategic, mission-driven government can successfully transition an industrial hub into a future powerhouse, in a prudent, value-for money driven, just and meaningful way.”
Viking CCS
The Viking CCS pipeline will transport CO₂ captured from the industrial cluster at Immingham out to the Viking reservoirs via the Theddlethorpe gas terminal and an existing 75-mile (120km) pipeline as part of the Lincolnshire offshore gas gathering system (LOGGS).
The project forms part of the UK’s track 2 CCS projects along with Scotland’s Acorn CCS project.
While the UK government has backed the track 1 projects with around £22 billion of government funding, the track 2 proposal have not received similar pledges of support. Business leaders have warned that this lack of certainty could cause delays.
Harbour had initially envisaged making a final investment decision on the Viking scheme last year. VPI’s call comes after the project received development consent last week.
Investment
The Viking CCS pipeline’s backers have previously estimated the project could unlock £7bn of investment across the Humber region by 2035.
VPI said that project has the potential to create 1,500 jobs during the peak of the construction phase, with additional permanent roles during operations. It envisions that the wider Viking CCS build-out will create a further 20,000 jobs.
The cluster also includes the UK’s largest port, allowing the Treasury to unlock around £30bn in taxable revenues by 2050, through imports of foreign carbon.
VPI is part of the Humber Zero project, a member of the greater Viking CCS scheme. It aims to reduce the carbon emissions of critical industry in the Immingham industrial area using carbon capture.
Along with Phillips 66, VPI Immingham wants to remove up to 3.8m tonnes of CO₂ from the Immingham industrial area, which includes the VPI Immingham combined heat and power plant and Phillips 66’s Humber Refinery, every year by around 2027.
