Chamber welcomes Government announcement on Viking’s Track Two selection

THE Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the announcement that the Government has awarded Track Two status to the Harbour Energy project which links Phillips 66, VPI and others to the Viking carbon capture and storage project under the North Sea.

Following the disappointment that the Humber was overlooked in the last Budget announcements, this latest news means plans to cut the CO2 emissions in the UK’s most polluting region are now a step closer.

Harbour Energy’s proposal will capture carbon from the South Bank’s refineries and other industries by collecting up to 10-million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030, condensing it and then storing it in underground aquifers in the North Sea.

David Hooper, the Chamber’s External Affairs Director, said: “The Chamber welcomes the Government announcement that the Harbour Energy project has been awarded Track Two status – it’s a step in the right direction, but we now want to see all the Humber schemes given the green light for Track Two.

“In April, the Chamber wrote a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Energy, Grant Shapps, alongside local Council leaders, expressing strong concern over the omission of the Humber in the Government’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) announcements.

“There was concern and frankly amazement that the Humber was largely overlooked putting at risk the £15-billion of investment which was planned for the Humber’s Carbon Zero agenda amid fears that money might be spent elsewhere, leaving the Humber, which should be leading the world on the carbon capture and storage agenda, completely adrift.

 “The Chamber’s view continues to be that the UK should go green through the Humber, and the country cannot go green without the Humber!”