BEIS has published a call for evidence on changes to the Carbon Capture Readiness (CCR) requirements. The proposed changes would significantly expand the categories of plants that would have to demonstrate they are decarbonisation ready as part of their permitting process, and it is important that all developers of thermal generation plant (including bioenergy) follow … Read more

The Australian Government has committed over AUS$1.1 billion for hydrogen, CCS/CCUS and international technology partnerships. The funding comes from the 2021-2022 Federal budget and broadly consists of: AUS$275.5m for the development of four hydrogen hubs AUS$263.7m for the development of CCS/CCUS projects AUS$565.8m for international technology partnerships This week’s Federal Government’s commitment sees some AUS$1.1 … Read more

Becoming a world-leader in carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) technology is at the heart of the UK Government’s new plan for a “green industrial revolution” released on 18 November 2020 (Ten Point Plan). The Ten Point Plan makes it clear that by capturing carbon from power generation, low carbon hydrogen production and industrial processes, … Read more

Today the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out the Government’s ten point plan for what it is calling the green industrial revolution. This is part of the blueprint for the UK to meet the legally-binding target to produce net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The ten points of the plan are: Offshore wind – … Read more

This week the Australian federal government announced a $1.9 billion funding package targeting new and emerging technologies for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). This provides important funding certainty to ARENA and CEFC and is expected to substantially assist in Australia’s energy transition towards a lower emissions energy … Read more

In our July post EU Hydrogen Strategy – a call to action we looked at the EU’s Hydrogen Strategy, which sets out the European Commission’s vision for how the EU can harness the power of hydrogen to achieve its commitments to decarbonise the continent and transition to clean energy by 2050. In today’s post we … Read more

On 8 July 2020, the European Commission (the “Commission“) published its European Hydrogen Strategy (the “Hydrogen Strategy“) and launched the industry-led European Clean Hydrogen Alliance (the “ECHA” or the “Alliance“). (1) The European Hydrogen Strategy (A) Background: A Policy Framework for Energy Transition & Decarbonisation The Hydrogen Strategy sets out the Commission’s vision for how … Read more

Last month, the Oil and Gas Authority (the “OGA”) released a consultation paper (the “OGA Consultation”) setting out its proposals to revise the Maximising Economic Recovery Strategy for the UK (the “MER UK Strategy”). The OGA’s proposed revisions are potentially far-reaching and are aimed at positioning the UK’s oil and gas industry as a solution, rather than an impediment, to achieving the Government’s carbon neutrality targets. In this briefing we review five key changes proposed in the OGA’s consultation document, and consider their impact on participants in the oil and gas industry. The MER UK Strategy will be familiar to all participants in the industry.  Since March 2016, the MER UK Strategy has had as its core obligation a requirement to “take the steps necessary to secure that the maximum value of economically recoverable petroleum is recovered from the strata beneath relevant UK waters”. The OGA Consultation, released on 6 May 2020, has been issued in the wake of the UK government’s introduction of legislation in June 2019 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 (the “Net Zero Target”). Read more