It's time for the tale of lost North Sea jobs to stop - and Acorn carbon capture is a start
Support for Acorn was an important step for industrial Scotland and a reminder of the home-grown advantage we still hold.
Last year, the UK relied on imports for nearly 40 per cent of its energy needs – a record high. And yet the North Sea remains an untapped strategic economic asset.
Offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture projects aren’t as advanced as hoped when COP26 took place in Glasgow. Volumes of oil and gas produced in UK waters continue to decline faster than expected in the face of policy uncertainty. In an uncertain world, that is not the place to be.
The loss of sovereign capability is not only a tale to be told of our North Sea, but also of our manufacturing bases. From shipbuilding on the Clyde to chemical processing on the Firth of Forth, many of us of a certain age have watched Scotland’s manufacturing significantly shrink.
That isn’t good news for our economy, for our jobs or for our communities. Carbon capture and storage is a catalyst to tell a different story.
Located at St Fergus near Peterhead, Acorn will capture carbon from high-emission sectors like glass, cement and power generation, compress it, and store it deep beneath the North Sea in depleted oil and gas reservoirs. A repurposed network of more than 200 miles of pipeline, including links from Grangemouth, will transport these emissions for storage.
The UK government’s £200 million investment announced this week, part of a wider £9.4 billion commitment, sends a clear and welcome signal. The Scottish Government, too, has long championed carbon capture and Scotland’s role in leading the transition.
For communities like Falkirk and Aberdeen, Acorn represents real, long-term opportunity. Once the development is sanctioned, the project is expected to support around 10,800 construction jobs and create up to 4,700 long-term roles.
As the Chancellor said last week, where things are made, and who makes them, matters. For too long we have watched the decline of industry, imported many of our basic needs while exporting jobs and economic value.
The support for the Acorn project provides an important signal. Critical decisions in the coming months lie ahead that will shape Scotland’s industrial future.
- David Whitehouse is Offshore Energies UK chief executive.
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