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UKCS current carbon storage complex (WGS84)
Published by:
North Sea Transition Authority
Last updated:
20 June 2026
Topic:
Not added
Licence:
None
Summary
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) refers to a number of techniques and processes which capture carbon dioxide emissions, generally from industrial processes. Thecarbon dioxide (CO2) can then be transported, including via repurposed gas pipelines, and stored, for example in underground locationsCO2will typically be stored at depths greater than 800 metres, where it no longer behaves as a gas, but instead as a supercritical fluid. The same geological formations that are well understood in the UK from many decades of oil and gas production, such as the Triassic Bunter Formation and Tertiary Forties Sandstones, are also likely to be ideal for the storage of carbon dioxide.
CCS involves the capture of CO2emissions from industrial processes, such as steel and cement production, the generation of hydrogen through steam reforming, or from the burning of biomass or fossil fuels in power generation. It may also be used in combination with emerging direct air capture technologies. This carbon dioxide is then transported from where it was produced, via ship or in a pipeline, and stored deep underground in geological formations.
The NSTA is the licensing authority for offshoreCO2storage in the UK, approving and issuing carbon dioxide storage and appraisal licences, storage permits, and maintaining the carbon storage public register.
Certain activities proposed under CS licences may also be subject to specific environmental assessment by BEIS (Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED)).
A licensee also requires a lease from the Crown Estate/Crown Estate Scotland (as applicable) before undertaking storage activities.
