Peterhead gas CCS project wins FEED support

Shell has signed an agreement with the government to progress the Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project to the next phase of design. The project, led by Shell, with support from SSE, the owner of the Peterhead gas-fired power station in Aberdeenshire, aims to capture 10mn tonnes of carbon dioxide over 10 years.

If successful, the project will represent the first industrial-scale application of CCS technology at a gas-fuelled power station anywhere in the world.

The agreement, signed by Energy Secretary Ed Davey at Shell’s offices in Aberdeen in February, marks the start of a period of front-end engineering and design (FEED), which is expected to continue until 2015. Davey was accompanied at the signing by Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

Subject to positive final investment decisions by Shell and the government and the receipt of all relevant consents and permits, the project is expected to be up and running by the end of the decade, says the company.

‘The signing of this agreement is a hugely important step towards the UK delivering the world’s first CCS demonstration facility on a gas-fired power station. The project has the potential to make gas, already the cleanest burning fossil fuel, even cleaner,’ said Ed Daniels, Chairman of Shell UK.

Peterhead joins the White Rose CCS project in Yorkshire in reaching a government-supported FEED stage. The Peterhead project is also part of a portfolio of major CCS projects supported by Shell, including the Quest oil sands project in Alberta, Canada, and the Gorgon project in Australia.