Abstract
Project Anemone was sponsored by the Offshore Wind and Carbon Capture and Storage Colocation Forum1 as part of the Forum’s work on co-location. In parallel, members of Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) requested they facilitate activity to support colocation of offshore projects with oil and gas (O&G) activity on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) which resulted in OEUK sponsorship of the project. Originally conceived by Decarb Scotland (formerly NECCUS), Project Anemone was delivered by a partnership of OEUK, the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (OREC) and Decarb Scotland, and was expanded to cover carbon storage (CS), offshore wind (OSW) and O&G to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with offshore colocation of these sectors. The project responds to growing pressure on seabed space as the UK pursues Clean Power 2030 and longer-term net zero objectives, which can create circumstances where seabed licences and/or leases are colocated - in close proximity or overlapping.
There are several existing examples of colocation across the UKCS, and as such, Project Colocate2 and Project Anemone were developed to explore the opportunities and challenges. Project Colocate set out to understand the risks, opportunities and practicalities of colocating OSW and CS infrastructure, including access, geological risks and monitoring. Project Anemone focussed on providing developers and wider marine stakeholders with clear insight into regulatory and leasing pathways, overlap risks and potential enabling actions for colocation and informed decision-making.
The project was structured around three aims:
- To map regulatory and consenting processes
- Identify and prioritise operational opportunities and challenges
- Identify actions that could help realise opportunities or overcome barriers