Green infrastructure developer Cerulean Winds has revealed an ambitious plan to accelerate decarbonization of oil and gas assets through an integrated 200-turbine floating wind and hydrogen development that would shift the dial on emissions targets and create significant jobs.

The £10B proposed green infrastructure play would have the capacity to abate 20 MMt of CO₂  through simultaneous North Sea projects West of Shetland and in the Central North Sea.

The venture is now calling on UK and Scottish governments to make an ‘exceptional’ case to deliver an ‘extraordinary’ outcome for the economy and the environment. A formal request for seabed leases has been submitted to Marine Scotland.

Cerulean Winds is led by serial entrepreneurs Dan Jackson and Mark Dixon. They believe the risk of not moving quickly on basin wide decarbonization would wholly undermine the objectives set out in the recent North Sea Transition Deal.

The Cerulean leadership has Tier 1 contractors in place to deliver the UKCS backbone development and has engaged the financial markets for a fully funded infrastructure construct.

The proposed development involves:

• Over 200 of the largest floating turbines at sites West of Shetland and in the Central North Sea with 3GW per hour of capacity, feeding power to the offshore facilities and excess 1.5 GW per hour power to onshore green hydrogen plants.
• Ability to electrify the majority of current UKCS assets as well as future production potential from 2024 to reduce emissions well ahead of abatement targets.
• 100% availability of green power to offshore platforms at a price below current gas turbine generation through a self-sustained scheme with no upfront cost to operators.
• The development of green hydrogen at scale and £1B hydrogen export potential.
• No subsidies or CFD requirements and hundreds of millions of pounds to government revenue via leases and taxation through to 2030.

Cerulean has undertaken the necessary infrastructure planning for the scheme to ensure the required level of project readiness, targeting financial close in Q1 2022. Construction would start soon after with energization commencing in 2024.  An Infrastructure Project Finance model, commonly used for major capital projects is being adopted.

Société Générale, one of the leading European financial services groups is advising Cerulean Winds.

"The Cerulean UKCS decarbonization project has the potential to meet all of the basin’s transition needs by reducing oil and gas emissions as quickly as possible whilst also introducing large scale green energy," said Allan Baker, Global Head of Power Advisory and Project Finance. "We are pleased to be supporting the leadership on what is a transformational proposition for the UK."

Corporate finance advisors to the energy industry Piper Sandler are also advising. Tim Hoover, Managing Director, Project Finance Investment Banking at Piper Sandler added:

“The Piper Sandler investment bankers in the UK and in the US have partnered with Cerulean’s leadership over the last year to develop the UKCS decarbonization model and we are pleased that it is now at the regulatory approval stage; it is a scheme that understands the needs and requirements of the financial markets to make it bankable.”

Cerulean estimates that the current 160,000 oil and gas jobs can be safeguarded and 200,000 new roles within the floating wind and hydrogen sectors will be created within the next five years.