Viking CCS Receives Independent Verification of Storage Resources

Harbour Energy announced that ERCE, a consultancy specializing in geoscience evaluation, engineering, and economic assessments, has completed an independent audit of the CO2 storage capacity of the offshore Viking fields. Harbour was granted the CO2 appraisal and storage licence for the Viking area in 2021 and it is a key component of the company’s Viking CCS project.

Using the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ (SPE) Storage Resource Management System, ERCE has independently verified Harbour’s estimate of 300 million tonnes of contingent CO2 storage resources and considers the number to be fair and reasonable.

Viking CCS is expected to be operational from as early as 2027, assuming a Final Investment Decision in 2024, and has plans to transport and store 10 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030, and up to 15 million tonnes by 2035. Confirmation of the fields’ storage capacity by ERCE underscores the vital role that Viking CCS can play in enabling the UK Government to reach its target to capture up to 30 million tonnes a year of CO2 by 2030.

Steve Cox, EVP HSES, Net Zero and CCS, said: “During 2022, we had our contingent CO2 storage resources of 300 million tonnes independently evaluated by ERCE via a Competent Person’s Report, the first project in the UK and we believe only the third in the world to have done so. This confirms Viking ’s leading position in the UK’s CCS industry.

“We look forward to the UK Government announcing its plans to progress Track 2 of its cluster sequencing process, as a critical next step in the development of the UK CCS industry. Securing government support through this process in the coming months will be important if the Viking project is to remain on its current development schedule and be ready for start-up in 2027.”