Offshore energy integration ‘could deliver 30% of UK’s net zero target’

The integration of offshore energy systems, including oil and gas, renewables, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS), could contribute to deliver around 30% of the UK’s total carbon reduction requirements needed to meet the 2050 net zero target.

This is according to a new Energy Integration Project report, published by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) in collaboration with Ofgem, the Crown Estate and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The report also highlights the additional potential for offshore renewables (wind, wave and tidal) to contribute approximately a further 30% towards the UK’s net zero target. This means the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) could support, in combination with complementary investments in onshore energy infrastructure, around 60% of the UK’s decarbonisation requirements – says the OGA.

Already over 30 energy integration projects are underway across the UKCS, with more than 10 being engaged by the OGA alongside this study. The findings of the report include:

• • Oil and gas platform electrification is essential to cutting sector production emissions in the near term, and critical to the industry’s social licence to operate.
• • Oil and gas capabilities, infrastructure and supply chain are crucial to energy integration, and can potentially support further offshore renewables expansion, including floating wind power.
• Re-using oil and gas reservoirs and infrastructure can accelerate CCS, connecting to onshore net zero hubs and saving 20–30% capex on specific projects.
• Blue hydrogen (produced from natural gas) has the potential to decarbonise around 30% of the UK natural gas supply by 2050, potentially supporting around half of CCS expansion in the same timeframe.
• Green hydrogen (from renewables) could support and enable the significant expansion of offshore renewables in the 2030s and beyond, providing an efficient storage and energy transportation solution.