Essar Oil UK Partners with Topsoe for Industrial Carbon Capture Facility in UK

Essar Oil UK has recently announced a significant development in their decarbonisation strategy, with the selection of Denmark-based Topsoe as the licensor technology provider for establishing an industrial carbon capture facility at Stanlow, UK. This latest initiative forms part of Essar Oil UK’s overarching strategy to minimize refinery emissions, with the objective of transforming the facility into the world’s premier low carbon refinery.

According to Deepak Maheshwari, CEO of Essar Oil UK, the company is preparing to invest USD 1.2 billion in decarbonising the refinery, a measure that will result in a substantial reduction of approximately 2 million tons of CO2 emissions. The industrial carbon capture facility, coupled with an upcoming hydrogen fuel switching project, is anticipated to reduce the refinery’s CO2 emissions by an impressive 95 per cent.

For this project, Topsoe will be providing its sustainable flue-gas treatment technology SNOXTM. With the selection of Topsoe and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Essar Oil UK has now identified most of its technology partners and is ready to progress to the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase of the project. The development of the basic engineering design packages (BEDP) for the licensed technologies is currently underway.

Moreover, this initiative situates Essar Oil UK at the forefront of the UK’s energy transition by producing the UK’s first low carbon fuels, ensuring the refinery’s ongoing role in UK energy security and resilience. The company’s overall decarbonisation strategy encompasses two major projects – industrial carbon capture (ICC) at Stanlow, scheduled to be operational by 2028, and hydrogen fuel switching from natural gas to hydrogen as a fuel source, both of which are expected to result in annual emissions reductions of about 1 million tons of CO2 each.

Elena Scaltritti, Chief Commercial Officer at Topsoe, conveyed excitement about the partnership and reaffirmed Topsoe’s commitment to supporting Essar Oil UK in their decarbonisation targets. This collaboration represents a significant advancement for Topsoe in the United Kingdom and serves as a commendable example of how the fossil industry can actively contribute to decarbonisation efforts.

Essar Oil UK has been proactive in addressing the pressing need for decarbonisation in the energy sector. Earlier this year, the company established Essar Energy Transition (EET), a new unit dedicated to driving low carbon projects in the UK and India over the next five years. Through EET, Essar aims to invest across its site at Stanlow, as well as in India, for developing low carbon energy transition projects.

The company’s endeavors to decarbonize the refinery and produce low carbon fuels align with the global initiative to combat climate change and reduce carbon emissions. With this latest partnership and investment, Essar Oil UK is unquestionably making significant strides towards creating a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly future for the energy industry.