Expro awarded well test contract for UK CCS project
Published by Alfred Hamer,
Editorial Assistant
Oilfield Technology,
Energy services provider, Expro, has secured a key contract to deliver integrated well testing services for a high-profile carbon capture and storage (CCS) project offshore UK.
This award follows soon after the industry’s much anticipated December 2024 award of the first ever carbon storage permit by the UK Regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), to the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) for the storage of carbon dioxide in the Endurance reservoir located off the North-East Coast of England.
Expro has been commissioned by NEP to provide critical services that will be needed to appraise two wells in the Endurance reservoir for future CCS suitability.
The production and injection testing of the Endurance aquifer will provide important information that will be used to characterise the reservoir as part of the East Coast Cluster field development plan. Expro will deliver operations using capabilities and technologies from its well testing, fluid sampling and analysis, and subsea business segments. To provide a fully integrated CCS appraisal solution, Expro has selected Baker Hughes to provide its electrical submersible pumps (ESP) and Metrol Technology for Drill Stem Testing (DST), Downhole Data Acquisition and Wireless Telemetry Services.
The Endurance reservoir has the capacity to store up to 450 million t of CO2. It is regarded as critical to achieving UK Government CCS targets of 20-30 million tpy of CO2 by 2030 and over 50 million tpy by 2035.
Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) is a joint venture between bp, TotalEnergies, and Equinor. It was formed in 2020 as the East Coast Cluster CO2 transportation and storage provider, which will transport and store CO2 emissions from the Teesside and the Humber industrial clusters.
The contract is expected to safeguard local jobs in the North-East of Scotland, reinforcing Expro’s long-standing presence in the region. The company’s well test team will be based at its regional centre of excellence in Aberdeen, ensuring operations are delivered utilising local expertise. In its commitment to regional economic development, Expro will also prioritise engagement with UK-based suppliers, helping to strengthen and sustain the national energy supply chain.
Expro has more than 20 years’ experience in supporting CCS projects around the world, including the Northern Lights project in Norway. The company also has a 50-year-plus heritage of supporting the energy industry in the North Sea.
Iain Farley, Regional Vice President for Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa at Expro said: “Our success in securing this contract for the Northern Endurance Partnership demonstrates Expro’s ability to use our reservoir appraisal and well test capabilities, that have traditionally been used for the development of oil and gas reservoirs, to help kick-off the carbon storage industry in the UK. Expro is proud of both playing a key role in helping to decarbonize the UK and in the confidence that the Northern Endurance Partnership has placed in Expro to successfully deliver this project.
“This contract win builds on the success of the integrated well testing services that Expro has also provided to Equinor for the Northern Lights CCS project in Norway. It also demonstrates our commitment to the UK’s CCS program and the opportunities it is expected to create for local employment, economies, and supply chains.”
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