How a North East pipeline could prolong Grangemouth’s life despite funding row

First Minister John Swinney has announced £2 million of funding towards a project looking at how to repurpose existing oil and gas infrastructure so that carbon captured at the Grangemouth industrial complex could be transported to the Acorn carbon capture and storage project at Peterhead.

But Mr Swinney’s government previously pledged £80 million towards the Acorn project before pausing the funding, leading to criticism of the £2 million announcement.

Concerns have also been raised about the viability of the technology and funding being handed to fossil fuels giants like Shell who are part of the Acorn project.

Under the plans the SCO₂T Connect pipeline would take carbon emissions from the Grangemouth industrial cluster and the Mossmorran plant in Fife and transport them to the North East to be stored under the seabed.

Speaking in Peterhead, Mr Swinney said the National Gas pipeline would be “a critical component” of the Acorn project.

He added that the £2 million of funding shows the Scottish Government’s “unwavering support for carbon capture and storage”, despite concerns over an initially-promised £80 million not materialising.

In November, SNP Energy Minister Gillian Martin said the £80 million would be allocated once a firm timetable for the project was set out by the UK government.

But Conservative MSP for the North East, Douglas Lumsden, claimed the Scottish Government has only put forward a “pitiful slice of what was promised”.

Mr Lumsden added: “The SNP government must stop harming business investment and deliver the full £80 million of promised funding to allow Acorn to become operational and help reach our net zero objectives.”

The Scottish and UK governments have put a renewed focus on the future of the Grangemouth industrial cluster with Petroineos set to close Scotland’s only oil refinery at the site next year, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

It is hoped that connecting Grangemouth to the carbon capture project could prolong the life of some of the operations at the site by preventing the harmful pollution entering the atmosphere.

But fears have been raised that an over-reliance on carbon capture technology, untested at commercial scale with government officials still undertaking feasibility studies on it.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s climate and energy campaigner, Caroline Rance, said: “Why are ministers banking on this technology, and ploughing on with fossil fuel infrastructure, when they are not even sure if it will work?“If this pipeline is so critical, then why are the likes of Shell, Ineos and other wealthy polluters not paying the relatively modest £2 million for this study, when they will be the main beneficiaries of the Acorn project?”

The new Labour government is also backing a carbon capture strategy and aims to put investments into facilities including the Acorn project through its National Wealth Fund.

The UK government is set to take decisions this year on the first two carbon capture clusters in the north of England before turning attention to the second tranche of clusters which includes the Acorn project.