Equinor, BP and TotalEnergies invest in Britain's carbon-capture projects

They announced on Tuesday that Equinor, BP, and TotalEnergies have made the final investment decisions for two of Britain's first projects to capture and store carbon in the north.

The Northern Endurance Partnership Project, which is a joint venture between the three companies, will store carbon dioxide permanently for an initial amount of 4 million tonnes per year.

Equinor holds 45% of NEP. BP has 45%, and TotalEnergies 10%.

Equinor, BP and BP are also partners on the Net Zero Teeside Power Project. This project is a 742 megawatts (MW), gas-fired plant with carbon capture. BP owns 75% of this project and Equinor 25%.

Irene Rummelhoff, executive Vice President of Marketing, Midstream and Processing, Equinor, said: "It's a significant milestone that we have reached a Final Investment Decision and a financial close for two of the UK’s first infrastructure projects in carbon capture, storage and transport."

However, the companies did not reveal their final investment figures.

Britain has set a target of achieving net zero emissions in 2050. It has also stated that carbon capture and storage is needed to reduce emissions from industrial sectors with high energy intensity.

The government has committed to invest up to 21.7 billion pounds in carbon capture and storage, with the hope that this will help revitalize the industrial regions of the country and create much-needed investment and jobs.

Ed Miliband, Britain's energy secretary, said that the investment "launches a new era of clean energy in Britain" - boosting security and securing energy for industries in Teesside and North East. It also supports thousands of high-skilled jobs.

The British government announced that work on the projects will begin in 2025.

It added that the investments in carbon capture and storage will directly support 2,000 new jobs in the North East of England. Tens of thousands of additional jobs are expected to be created in Britain over the next few years.

It said that the companies also plan to award supply chain contracts worth 4 billion pounds ($5.1billion) in order to drive growth and investment into this region. $1 = 0.7857 pounds (Reporting and editing by Nora Buli)

(source: Reuters)