Oct 16, 2025
Successful testing represents a significant advancement for the carbon storage sector.
The UK carbon storage industry has achieved a significant milestone with the drilling of the first appraisal well at a licensed carbon storage site during the North Sea Transition Authority’s (NSTA) 2023 licensing round. Managed by Eni, the well was drilled in the Hewett field, part of the Bacton Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project. This marks the first well drilled on land awarded in the world's inaugural large-scale carbon storage licensing round.
The Hewett field, located 18 miles off the Norfolk coast and previously one of the UK's longest-producing gas fields, was permanently closed in 2023. Eni aims to convert the site to store up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually from the Bacton and broader Thames Estuary region, offering potential decarbonization pathways for UK and EU emitters. Eni’s Valaris 72 rig commenced drilling in May 2025, gathering extensive data, including core samples and nitrogen injection tests.
This data will guide future development by evaluating reservoir conditions, injection feasibility, and well integrity. Andy Brooks, NSTA Director of New Ventures, remarked that the carbon storage industry is entering an exciting phase, with two major projects approved recently, which will create thousands of supply chain jobs.
The UK continental shelf is estimated to have a storage capacity of up to 78 gigatonnes, sufficient to capture all UK emissions since the industrial revolution. The NSTA foresees that around 100 storage sites will need evaluation to achieve net-zero goals. The Bacton CCS project builds on recent permit grants for Liverpool Bay CCS and the Northern Endurance Partnership, which could collectively store over 200 million tonnes of CO2.
The Hewett field, located 18 miles off the Norfolk coast and previously one of the UK's longest-producing gas fields, was permanently closed in 2023. Eni aims to convert the site to store up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually from the Bacton and broader Thames Estuary region, offering potential decarbonization pathways for UK and EU emitters. Eni’s Valaris 72 rig commenced drilling in May 2025, gathering extensive data, including core samples and nitrogen injection tests.
This data will guide future development by evaluating reservoir conditions, injection feasibility, and well integrity. Andy Brooks, NSTA Director of New Ventures, remarked that the carbon storage industry is entering an exciting phase, with two major projects approved recently, which will create thousands of supply chain jobs.
The UK continental shelf is estimated to have a storage capacity of up to 78 gigatonnes, sufficient to capture all UK emissions since the industrial revolution. The NSTA foresees that around 100 storage sites will need evaluation to achieve net-zero goals. The Bacton CCS project builds on recent permit grants for Liverpool Bay CCS and the Northern Endurance Partnership, which could collectively store over 200 million tonnes of CO2.