Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the timelines in her Department's policy paper entitled, Carbon capture, usage and storage: a vision to establish a competitive market, published on 20 December 2024, on the deliverability of its target of capturing 20 to 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year across the economy by 2030.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has set out an ambition to establish four CCUS clusters that will capture 20-30 Mtpa of carbon dioxide per year by 2030. In 2023, the Chancellor announced the availability of up to £20 billion for investment in the early development of CCUS. This unprecedented investment will help meet the government’s climate commitments.
The CCUS Vision stated that by the mid 2030s, the amount of CO₂ annually stored may need to increase to at least 50 megatonnes per annum (Mtpa). To achieve this, it is likely that the CCUS sector will need to increase the annual amount of CO₂ stored by at least 6 Mtpa each year from 2031.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it is still her Department's aim for the UK to be capturing 20–30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year across the economy by 2030 of which 5 million tonnes would be delivered from Engineered GGRs.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In October 2021, the government announced in the Net Zero Strategy its ambition to capture and store 20-30 MtCO2 per year by 2030, with 10Mt of this capacity to be delivered by Track-2 clusters.
The Net Zero Strategy outlines an ambition to deploy 5MtCO2/year of engineered removals by 2030. The UK Government remains committed to meeting these ambitions.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department's timelines are for carbon capture, usage and storage (a) track-1 expansion and (b) track-2 cluster sequencing; whether those processes will run concurrently; and whether the track-2 timeline is contingent on the progress of track-1 processes.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government has progressed the CCUS cluster sequencing process, selecting the first 4 clusters to meet the 2030 ambition.
Projects submitted applications for HyNet expansion in March. These will be assessed, with shortlisted projects announced from Autumn 2024.
Following agreement of Heads of Terms with the Transport and Storage company in December 2023, Government is considering the best timing for launching an East Coast Cluster expansion process, beginning with assessment of store readiness.
The Track-2 December update set out Government’s proposed ‘anchor’ and ‘buildout’ approach. Government has continued engagement with Acorn and Viking, and will provide further guidance in due course.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2024 to Question 18572: Marine Protected Areas, whether she received advice from the (a) Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning and (b) Joint Nature Conservancy Council that any of the first 27 licences from the 33rd Offshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round would result in adverse impacts on marine protected areas.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) undertook a screening assessment under the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001. This assessment included consultation with appropriate nature conservation bodies, including Joint Nature Conservation Committee. OPRED also undertook a Marine Conservation Zone / Marine Protected Area assessment in accordance with the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.
OPRED’s assessments concluded that award of the first 27 licences would not result in adverse impacts on the relevant protected areas. The SoS received advice from OPRED on the outcome of these assessments throughout the 33rd Round process. Assessment reports were published in July 2023: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64be43579c2df00012940285/33rd_Round_HRA_Screening_Report.pdf; https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64c77b5ff92186000d8667b6/33R_Round_MCZ_MPA_Assessment_Report.pdf.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of seismic airgun surveys on cetacean species in the East Faroe Shetland Channel Marine Protected Area.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has a comprehensive legal framework of environmental protection measures for offshore oil and gas activities. This covers the entire oil and gas life cycle, from the initial licence application to decommissioning activities. All exploration activities, including seismic surveys, which could impact the environment are subject to rigorous environmental assessment, and offshore activities are controlled through an environmental permitting process.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill on (a) Marine Protected Areas and (b) the Environment Act target for 70% of the designated features in the Marine Protected Area network to be in favourable condition by 2042.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill will not affect the UK's ability to reach targets for ensuring our Marine Protected Areas are in a good or recovering state.
Nor will it change the robust framework we have in place for licensing oil and gas that ensures this.
Licenses have only ever been awarded once the environmental regulator was satisfied that the activities will not negatively impact protected areas, and their impact is carefully managed by our expert regulators.
There is therefore no reason for the Bill to affect our Environment Act target for maintaining marine protected areas.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including the potential impacts of decommissioning in the Environmental Impact Assessments for establishing new (a) oil and (b) gas developments.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK has a comprehensive legal framework of environmental protection measures for offshore oil and gas activities, including decommissioning activities. It covers the entire oil and gas life cycle, from the initial licence application to decommissioning.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the legal framework for protecting the marine environment in the context of recent progress in decommissioning oil and gas boreholes in the North Sea.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The decommissioning of wells is important to enable the safety and integrity of the well to protect the marine environment. The relevant regulators, Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), HSE and NSTA continue to work together to ensure well decommissioning is progressed in accordance with the relevant safety and environmental regulations and standards.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department plans to take to monitor the environmental impact of oil and gas exploration in the period after licensing rounds increase in frequency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK has a comprehensive legal framework of environmental protection measures for offshore oil and gas activities which will continue to apply. This covers the entire oil and gas life cycle, from the initial licence application to decommissioning activities. All activities that could impact the environment are subject to rigorous environmental assessment, and offshore activities are controlled through an environmental permitting process. There is also an inspection and enforcement regime in place to monitor compliance with the conditions included in environmental approvals.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential impact of new offshore oil and gas licences on the UK’s ability to meet the 30x30 commitment under the Kunming-Montreal Agreement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK is committed to the 30 by 30 global target under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The UK has a comprehensive legal framework of environmental protection measures for offshore oil and gas activities, and this will continue to apply to new licences. It covers the entire oil and gas life cycle, from the initial licence application to decommissioning activities.