The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) is inviting companies to nominate new CO2 storage sites in the North Sea, aiming to accelerate the UK ’s progress toward net-zero emissions by 2050.
This follows the recent issuance of a carbon storage license to the Northern Endurance Partnership and three permits to Eni for the Liverpool Bay CCS project.
With the North Sea playing a critical role in the UK’s climate goals, the NSTA’s latest call seeks to identify additional viable storage locations.
According to NSTA Chief Executive Stuart Payne, industry momentum is growing, and timely action is essential to support the country’s energy transition. Interested organizations are asked to submit spatial data and a brief project overview by July 31, 2025.
These submissions will help NSTA, Crown Estate Scotland, and The Crown Estate evaluate potential overlaps with other offshore activities like wind and tidal energy while streamlining future licensing and seabed leasing processes.
The UK Continental Shelf holds an estimated 78 gigatons of CO2 storage potential in depleted oil fields and saline formations.
Relevant: UK Greenlights Eni Carbon Capture Pipeline For 2028 Launch
By encouraging nominations from companies already conducting technical assessments, NSTA hopes to generate stronger proposals and speed up project deployment.
This initiative supports the UK government’s £21.7 billion (~$28.8 billion) commitment over 25 years to establish global leadership in carbon capture and storage. It builds on last year’s licensing round — the world’s first at this scale — which offered 21 licenses.
Among the newly permitted projects, Eni’s Liverpool Bay CCS will anchor the HyNet industrial cluster in North West England and North Wales. CO2 captured from nearby facilities will be piped to storage beneath the Irish Sea, using Eni’s depleted gas fields.
Engineering contracts for the project have been awarded to Italian firms Saipem (for CO2 compression infrastructure) and Rosetti Marino (for the construction of four offshore platforms for injection and storage).
Read more: NSTA Has Issued Tenders For Carbon Storage Studies In The UK
