The firm behind the Medway Hub Camelot CCS project has said that due to the unlikelihood of a future Track funding round for carbon storage projects, it is focussing on its “merchant scheme”.
In its interim financial report, Synergia said that the future of the Track funding process for carbon capture storage (CCS) projects is “in doubt and the government is currently developing an attractive framework for commercial schemes”.
As a result, it is developing its “merchant scheme” strategy for the CCS project, based on the Isle of Grain near Rochester in Kent
This involves Synergia providing transport and storage services to high carbon dioxide emitting companies and industries, without needing government funds.
The project aims to work with “coastal Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine power stations” to deliver CO2 emissions to the Bunter saline aquifer via a a floating injection, storage and offloading vessel (FISO).
The firm told shareholders that the approach “is proving to be a sound strategy” for the project, which was forced to hunt for a joint venture partner late last year.
In November, Harbour Energy stepped away from the project after picking up Wintershall Dea’s stake following a company takeover.
However, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said that Harbour could not step away from the project until a new partner was found.
Harbour made the decision as part of a “rationalisation of its CCS portfolio,” Synergia said at the time.
The UK’s largest producer of oil and gas remains involved in the Acorn and Viking CCS projects in Scotland and the Humber, respectively.
Recently, business leaders have been piling on the pressure to deliver promised cash to the two Track 2 projects, Acorn and Viking.
A variety of groups, including the CBI, Prosper, the Institute of Directors, Scottish Financial Enterprise and Scottish Chambers of Commerce, wrote a joint letter to chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves on Monday.
ETZ Ltd chairman Ian Wood warned that further delays to Acorn CCS could have serious economic consequences for Scotland.
Camelot delays
As a result of Harbour’s decision to step away from the project located around 18 miles off Norfolk, progress on Camelot CCS has been “temporarily scaled back,” Synergia explained.
It said that this will happen while it looks for a new partner in the field that could hold up to 95 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2 with yearly injection rates of 6.5 Mt per year.
Despite this, the technical work programme for the project, prescribed by the NSTA, “has been progressing well,” the firm claimed.
Synergia expects first CO2 injection at the UK CCS site in 2029 or 2030, following final investment decision (FID).
The firm outlined: “Synergia is confident that the Camelot field will be suitable for CO2 storage and a recent economic study undertaken by Axis Well Technology has confirmed that the project will be economically competitive.”
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