The Northern Endurance Partnership will take CO2 from Humber industry and store it permanently under the North Sea
A core sample from the Northern Endurance Partnership’s first exploration well in the North Sea.(Image: Northern Endurance Partnership)
Test drilling for a major Humber decarbonisation project has proven successful, its organisers say. The Northern Endurance Partnership will take CO2 produced by heavy industry from across emitters in the Humber and on Teesside before transporting it to a large aquifer underneath the North Sea.
The job-creating plan could produce the UK’s first CO2 transportation and storage network. Now, a first exploration well in the Southern North Sea has been drilled at the prospective BC39 storage site.
The work shows the site has suitable properties to safely and securely store CO2. It is the first of two exploration and appraisal wells planned this year. Northern Endurance Partnership said 500 metres of strong sealing rock above the 250-metre Bunter sandstone BC39 storage site. The conditions suggest the site could safely store millions of tonnes of CO2 in the coming decades.
Rich Denny, managing director of Northern Endurance Partnership, said: “These early results are a highly encouraging step forward for the UK’s carbon capture and storage ambitions. The success of the C43/30-2 well demonstrates both the quality of the Southern North Sea as a storage resource and the strength of collaboration between partners across the project.
“By delivering this programme, we are not only progressing a potential expansion option beyond Endurance but also building critical evidence to support the development of scalable carbon storage solutions for the Humber and Teesside. This work forms part of our broader commitments to Ofgem, ensuring we continue to develop reliable, future-ready infrastructure that supports the UK’s transition to net zero and help to underpin industrial decarbonisation and long-term energy transition goals.”
The Northern Endurance Partnership project is seen as crucial to achieving the UK’s net zero ambitions. And following financial close in December 2024 for the Teesside transport and storage system, the project is moving into construction, with first operations expected in 2029.
A next phase focusses on the Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline which will take CO2 from industrial sites in the Humber to the offshore stores. The Northern Endurance Partnership is a joint venture with bp, Equinor and Total Energies as shareholders.
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