Contract includes associated services for NEP project
Sonardyne has been awarded a contract by the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) to deliver baseline environmental monitoring services at the UK’s first offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) site.
NEP is the developer of the onshore and offshore infrastructure needed for transporting carbon dioxide from carbon capture projects at Teesside and the Humber. The area is collectively known as the East Coast Cluster.
The project secures storage under the North Sea and is vital to the Uks chances of achieving net zero in the region, which is one of the most intensive industrial regions for carbon.
Stephen Auld, business development manager for Custom Projects at Sonardyne, said: “Being selected to deliver subsea environmental monitoring for this landmark project is a real honour and a testament to Sonardyne’s significant experience and expertise in this field.”
Sonardyne will use seabed landers at key locations to monitor the environment, above and around the subsurface endurance site. The site of carbon dioxide storage is located 145km off the coast of Teesside.
Monitoring will begin summer 2026 and will collect baseline data two years prior to the planned carbon dioxide transportation and storage. Seabed landers will feature Sonardyne’s Edge data processing application, power management, and acoustic through-water communications. This allows for long-term remote battery-operated deployment.
Auld added: “As a company who are already carbon neutral in our UK operations, we are passionate about combatting climate change and the drive for carbon neutrality. We are delighted to be working with NEP in delivering cutting-edge marine technology to ensure their safe and successful offshore carbon storage operations.”
Hardware such as Sonardyne’s Origin 600 ADCP, Wavefronts passive sonar array, and multiple third-party sensors will be installed into each lander. The combination of hardware and software will allow for detection of water chemistry changes in the area. The data can be collected without physically accessing the lander via wireless subsea acoustic communication techniques.
Sarah Buchanan, bp Subsurface Manager: "NEP is at the forefront of driving the UK’s journey to net zero in securing a permit for carbon capture and storage at the Endurance site. Our collaboration with Sonardyne to monitor the storage site plays a critical role in ensuring carbon is stored safely and securely.”
Monitoring is required to ensure CCS developments are safe and the containment of carbon dioxide is not faulty to leaking. This reassures stakeholders to the projects success and can help ease the public of greenhouse gas reduction efforts.
