Leading independent oil and gas company Perenco will launch a carbon dioxide injection trial at its depleted Lehman gas field in December, in what will be the UK’s first major test for carbon storage development.

Leman is the UK’s largest depleted gas field. Perenco UK Ltd took over BP’s interests in the Leman field in 2003.

In August 2023, the company announced that the UK Government had awarded it a licence to conduct an offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the North Sea. It was also announced that the project, to be named Poseidon, would be undertaken at its Leman field as part of a joint venture with CCS company Carbon Catalyst.

Poseidon will initially inject 1.5 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of CO₂ into the Leman field. Over the projected 40-year period of the project, the annual total is set to increase to more than 40mtpa.

The CO₂ will be transported to the Leman field via a pipeline connecting to the PUK Bacton terminal, which will initially receive and process the CO₂ from several onshore sources before sending it offshore.

The North Sea Transition Authority began awarding CCS contracts in May 2023. According to the NTSA website, there are currently twenty-seven carbon dioxide (CO₂) appraisal and storage licences on the UK Continental Shelf.