McDermott International has joined a group of industry experts focused on developing a hydrogen-led energy hub located at Bacton in Norfolk.
The Bacton Energy Hub (BEH) project is being spearheaded by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), which unveiled its proposals last June.
It has pointed to the potential for the site to play a significant role in supporting decarbonisation and net zero efforts, via the development of sustainable hydrogen supplies.
With access to natural gas for blue hydrogen production, wind and nuclear links to produce green hydrogen, offshore infrastructure for carbon storage, and easy access to markets in London and the south east, the regulator said Bacton could play a crucial role in the UK’s energy mix.
Bacton wind farms could produce nearly 40% of the UK’s 40GW by 2030 offshore wind target, and power could be linked with “very significant hydrogen demand” in the surrounding area, the NSTA has said.
© Supplied by OGAIt has since established five special interest groups (SIGs) – covering hydrogen supply, hydrogen demand, regulatory, supply chain and technology, and infrastructure – to work collectively on an executable development concept.
McDermott has been selected as a core member of the infrastructure SIG and has been chosen to lead Work Scope 6—Greenfield Onshore facilities.
The Infrastructure SIG will establish the offshore and onshore facilities required to produce, store and distribute both low-carbon and renewable hydrogen, with associated CCUS. The SIG will include industry and government input to perform a series of studies and make recommendations for future project development.
“We are proud to play a leading role in developing the UK’s energy future in line with the net zero objectives set by the UK Government,” said McDermott’s senior vice president for onshore, Tareq Kawash.
“McDermott’s Center of Excellence in London has the design capabilities and expertise in major project execution, including both greenfield and brownfield, to deliver a viable project scope that will support Maximizing Energy Recovery (MER) and net zero emissions for the UK.”
Alistair MacFarlane, NSTA Southern North Sea & East Irish Sea area manager said it was “great to see an organisation like McDermott contributing” to the initiative
“The Infrastructure SIG will play a vital role in maturing the opportunity at Bacton and hopefully enabling the industry to take investment decisions by 2024,” he added.
Leading energy and service companies including Petrofac, Xodus and Summit E&P have also signed up to help deliver the project, leading other SIGs to progress plans.
The OGA intends for the site to be producing first hydrogen by 2030. Achieving this would mean submitting licence applications for carbon capture and storage by 2023, and a final investment decision on the overall hub concept for Bacton by as early as 2024.
Recommended for you
