The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority has announced that carbon storage developers have applied for rights to more than 2 million acres of North Sea seabed in the UK’s second carbon storage licensing round.
The round was launched in December 2025 and covered 14 offshore areas across Scotland and England. These include depleted oil and gas fields identified by NSTA, and saline aquifers proposed by industry, through a prior nomination process. The sites are estimated to offer up to 2 gigatonnes of potential CO2 storage capacity.
NTSA said it received bids for more than 2 million acres by the 24 March deadline and applications will now be assessed in consultation with The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland, with attention to spatial planning alongside other offshore activities. A decision on licence awards is expected in early 2027.
Andy Brooks, Director of New Ventures at NSTA, said: ‘The growth of the carbon storage sector is great news for UK jobs, growth, skills and the supply chain. The UK holds a unique position in developing offshore energy in general, including carbon storage. As we transition, we benefit from decades of experience in the North Sea, commercial know-how, optimal geological conditions, and spatial co-ordination.’
The process builds on the UK’s first carbon storage licensing round in 2023, in which 21 licences were awarded. Since then, four storage permits have been granted across two Track 1 projects, Endurance and HyNet, which are both targeting first injections by 2028.
Endurance, which is located offshore Teesside and part of the Northern Endurance Partnership, is intended to store CO2 from industrial clusters in Teesside and the Humber. The project has begun drilling appraisal wells and is expected to access up to 1 billion tonnes of storage capacity in offshore formations.
HyNet, centred on Liverpool Bay, has been awarded three storage permits and is progressing infrastructure to transport CO2 from industrial sources to depleted gas reservoirs beneath the seabed.
Offshore storage sites without direct pipeline access to emitters are expected to require maritime transport, particularly for cross-border flows. The timing of storage availability, including the planned start of injection from 2028, will be a factor in the deployment of CO2 carriers and associated port infrastructure.
NSTA has also published data and maps to support further appraisal activity and issued guidance to licensees on project development. Further consultation with developers and other stakeholders will take place before any new licences are awarded.
