Eni announced that it has obtained a second Carbon Dioxide Appraisal and Storage license (CS License) in the UK.

The new license, for the depleted Hewett gas field, which is located 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) offshore Bacton in the British North Sea’s southern sector, will contribute significantly to the UK’s ambition of storing 20-30 million tons per annum (mtpa) of CO2.

Given its existing infrastructure, and its proximity to the Bacton industrial cluster, Hewett, which has a significant total storage capacity of around 300 million tons, is an ideal site to permanently store carbon dioxide from industries in the south-east of England and the Thames estuary area, near London.

It also has the potential to promote blue hydrogen production and distribution in line with the UK’s decarbonization plans and targets.

The CCS technology removes from the atmosphere carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by industrial processes or captures it at the point of emission and stores it underground.

The Bacton Thames Net Zero initiative has attracted 13 industrial partners through a cooperation agreement in the energy, waste disposal, and manufacturing sectors.

The initial CO2 storage capacity is estimated at around 6 mtpa at the end of this decade and will progressively increase to over 10 mtpa after 2030.

This new license in the Bacton Area comes in addition to the one obtained in the Liverpool Bay Area in 2020, where Eni is the carbon dioxide transport and storage operator for the HyNet Northwest Project.

Moreover, implementing other initiatives such as the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm will further strengthen Eni’s leading role in contributing to the decarbonization process of the United Kingdom.