Neptune Unveils Dutch CCS Plan

Neptune Energy announced on December 10 it would undertake a feasibility study on developing a large-scale offshore carbon, capture and storage (CCS) project in the Dutch North Sea, estimating it could store as much as 120-150mn metric tons of CO₂.

The plan is to store 5-8mn mt of CO₂ annually in depleted gas fields at the Neptune-operated L10-A, L10-B and L10-E areas. The project, if realised, would be one of the largest CCS ventures in the Dutch North Sea and could more than halve CO₂ emissions from the country's industrial sector.

Neptune is the biggest gas producer in the Netherlands and already has some experience in CCS. It has injected CO₂ produced as a by-product at its K12-B platform back into the field for 14 years. The study will be carried out by Neptune in co-operation with its L10 partners Dutch state company Energie Beheer Nederland (EBD), Rosewood Exploration and XTO Netherlands, as well as CO₂ emitters.

"The first step is a feasibility study to confirm that CO₂ can be handled and stored safely in these depleted gas reservoirs, using our existing infrastructure," Neptune's managing director in the Netherlands, Lex de Groot, said. "We will engage with organisations and emitters to offer safe and competitively priced CO₂ storage."

CCS is increasingly seen as the solution to decarbonising areas of industry that would otherwise be difficult to abate. The Netherlands has other CCS projects in the pipeline, namely the Porthos and Athos schemes, which aim to store CO₂ off the shore from Rotterdam and IJmuiden. Other countries surrounding the North Sea are also looking to use offshore reservoirs as a means of decarbonising industry.

In addition to CCS, Neptune also plans to produce green hydrogen at its Q13a platform under the PosHYdon project.