Deal reached over carbon capture plan

ENI has announced it has reached a financial deal with UK Government on a carbon capture scheme under the sea off North Wales.

- By OWEN HUGHES Business Correspondent

Eni is the operator of the CO2 transport and storage system of the HyNet industrial Cluster, which aims take carbon dioxide (CO2) and store it in depleted gas fields under Liverpool Bay.

The financial close with the government allows the Liverpool Bay CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) project to move into the construction phase. Backers say the project will support the UK's industrial competitiveness for the long term, by safeguarding existing industrial employment and creating new production chains and jobs.

They added that the construction phase alone is estimated to employ around 2,000 people. This milestone follows the UK Government's funding allocation of £21.7 billion to be invested over a 25-year period across the first two CCS Clusters in the country.

It will see a pipeline built across Cheshire and north east Wales - linking Stanlow to Point of Ayr in Flintshire. From there, the CO2 will be pumped into the seabed.