This decarbonisation project will be SEEL’s first project dealing with the UK carbon storage sector and due to the company’s background in the UK oil and gas sector, SEEL will bring valuable skills to the project.

SEEL is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation and they have recently agreed to take a 10% intertest in the Orion carbon storage licence, which is located in the Southern North Sea sector of the UK Continental Shelf. The agreement is still awaiting approval; however, the project is expected to be an excellent step forwards for the carbon capture industry, with the focus being on two carbon storage licenses.

The project involves companies, CCL and licence operator Perenco, with the most recent addition being SEEL. The two licenses are CS017 and CS018, which together cover the Perenco UK (PUK)-operated and disused Amethyst and depleted West Sole gas fields. These fields are ideal for two reasons, the first is that they will enable SEEL to use their expertise for the decarbonisation project, but they are also, geographically the closest offshore storage sites to Humberside. Humberside is the UK’s largest industrial cluster and they are directly connected to the PUK-operated onshore Dimlington Gas Terminal. They are connected to this terminal through pipelines.

The Executive Director at Carbon Catalyst, Henry Morris, commented, “CCL is very pleased to welcome SEEL to the Orion CCS project. SEEL not only brings extensive experience from its former activities in the UK oil & gas sector and leadership of the Bacton Energy Hub, but also leverages Sumitomo Corporation’s global energy transition activities across shipping, hydrogen production and transportation, alternative sustainable fuels and energy transition infrastructure.”