Acorn
Tedstone Oil is a partner in the Acorn project, alongside Storegga, Shell and North Sea Midstream Partners. Acorn is developing projects to capture and store CO2 emissions and establish hydrogen infrastructure, all essential to meeting the UK's net zero targets.
CO2 emissions will be captured from a range of emitters including the St Fergus gas terminals, Peterhead power station and a National Grid owned feeder pipeline which will transport emissions from the Grangemouth and Mossmorran industrial areas. Taken together, these form the Scottish Cluster which has Track 1 Reserve status in the UK Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Cluster Sequencing Process.
The transport and storage (T&S) system will use the Goldeneye pipeline to transport CO2 for sequestration in depleted reservoirs initially. Applications for two additional storage licences were submitted to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) in September 2022 to expand the existing storage capacity using the existing Miller pipeline. In-line inspections are planned onshore in 2023 and offshore in 2024.
During 2022, Acorn completed a FEED study for its carbon capture plant at St Fergus and is progressing concept select and pre-FEED phase studies for the onshore and offshore T&S infrastructure. Acorn is also completing feasibility studies for a shipping and import scheme using existing port facilities at Peterhead in north-east Scotland to import CO2 by ship from geographically remote emitters nationally and internationally.
Acorn will continue to mature its decarbonisation projects technically and commercially in 2023. Acorn is preparing to launch a FEED competition to determine the best technical and commercial solution for a blue hydrogen production plant. We expect this to be initiated at the same time as engineering for CCS and import/shipping projects are progressed after the Track 2 sequencing process.
The Scottish Cluster
Acorn and a cross-sector group of Scottish industrial CO2 emitters, formed the Scottish Cluster as part of a campaign calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to deliver the actions needed so that CCS, hydrogen and other low carbon technologies, can enable the decarbonisation of Scottish and UK industry and facilitate a low carbon economy.