The UK unveils North Sea Oil and Gas and CCS programme in Scotland

The British Energy Secretary has unveiled plans to develop North Sea oil and gas production and a £50m financial support to install a CCS equipment at SSE's gas-fired power plant in Peterhead in Scotland. The UK government would invest £50m (€61m) to finance the FEED study for the Peterhead CCS project, the second of two projects to be funded under the UK’s CCS competition after the White Rose CCS project in Yorkshire. The Project will investigate capturing more than 85% of CO₂ emissions and transporting them by pipeline to the Goldeneye platform in the North Sea for storage in a depleted gas reservoir about 2.5km below the sea bed. If built, it could capture 1 MtCO₂/year. Moreover, the UK government will support the North Sea oil and gas industry to increase oil production by 3 to 4 Gbl. The government has already provided big tax incentives to support extraction as part of its long-term (20-years) economic plan – including a £3bn (€3.6bn) allowance for large and deep fields like those West of Shetland, and a £500m (€606m) allowance for large shallow-water gas fields - and has provided certainty on decommissioning relief worth £20bn (€24bn).

These announcements were followed by a £10.6m (€12.8m) funding by the Scottish government for the creation of a new oil and gas innovation centre in Aberdeen, which would focus on oil recovery techniques, shale gas exploitation, rigs lifetime extension and seismic surveys.

Energy projects in Scotland will play a big role during the Scottish independence referendum campaign both for the supply security of the UK and for an independent Scotland. The referendum on the independence will be held on 18 September 2014.