First UK CCS licence round results: opportunities and obstacles

The UK has successfully concluded its first CCS licensing round; this has unlocked significant opportunity for CO2 storage in depleted fields and saline aquifers. 21 licence areas have been awarded to 14 companies, making available 5.5 Gt of subsurface storage space. These licence awards are driving forward CO2 storage in depleted fields; 10 fields have been confirmed as storage targets, the total capacity across all depleted fields in awarded licence areas amounts to 2.8 Gt. The state of abandonment of old legacy wells is a key consideration for leakage risk from depleted field storage targets. In the recent CCS licence round, we see licences awarded to operators with the intent to store CO2 in producing assets in which they do not possess a working interest. Managing the co-existence of offshore operations will become a key consideration in meeting project delivery timelines. The main report deliverable is a PDF that can be found in the Report downloads section.