The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) on 9 December opened a carbon-storage licensing round offering 14 locations in Scottish and English waters for exploration and appraisal.
The areas offered fall into two broad categories—depleted hydrocarbon fields and saline aquifer sites. The areas were identified following a call for nominations that, earlier this year, allowed industry partners to indicate sites of interest.
Five areas are in Scottish waters, and nine are off the coast of England. Successful applicants for a carbon-storage license from the NSTA will require a seabed agreement from either Crown Estate Scotland or The Crown Estate in English waters before a project can progress.
“The UK Government has signaled its total support for carbon storage and the jobs and investment it can create as a vital part of the energy transition,” said Stuart Payne, NSTA’s chief executive. “We are proud to be launching this licensing round, working in collaboration with other authorities especially Crown Estate Scotland and The Crown Estate to support this vital industry in the next stage of its development.”
The NSTA said it plans to continue to work with both Crown Estate Scotland and The Crown Estate to explore opportunities to align licensing and leasing approaches in order to streamline application processes for developers.
“Carbon capture is vital in supporting hard-to-abate industries to decarbonize and a core element of the UK’s energy transition,” said Gus Jaspert, managing director, marine, at The Crown Estate. “We have worked with the NSTA to ensure the interests of other vital sectors including offshore wind, aggregates, cables, and nature were considered.”
The UK’s first carbon storage licensing round in September 2023 saw the award of 21 carbon storage licenses. The NSTA subsequently awarded the first storage permits to two projects—Endurance and HyNet—allowing them to proceed toward first injection.
The Endurance site, off the coast of Teesside, which could store up to 100 million tonnes of CO2, received a permit in December 2024. Liverpool Bay-based HyNet, which could also store up to 100 million tonnes of CO2 over 25 years, received three permits in April 2025.
The projects, funded from the UK’s government’s commitment of up £21.7 billion, is expected to contribute around £5 billion per year of gross value to the UK economy by 2050 and create 50,000 jobs long-term.
The licensing round will run until 24 March, after which applications will be reviewed with a view to awarding licenses in early 2027.