Stanlow produces 16pc of the UK’s road transport fuels
Essar Oil to build CCS at Stanlow
Carbon dioxide will be permanently sequestered into depleted gas fields under the sea in Liverpool Bay as part of the Hynet cluster
Refiner Essar Oil has announced plans to build a £360mn ($432mn) new carbon-capture plant at its Stanlow refinery. The gas will be permanently sequestered in depleted gas fields under the sea in Liverpool Bay as part of the Hynet cluster project in northwest England. The government designated Hynet North West as a ‘track one’ cluster last year, meaning it is eligible for the first round of state finance. Engineering company Kent has been awarded a pre-Feed contract to evaluate the incorporation of a unit to capture CO₂ from the fluid catalytic cracker at Stanlow. The unit is set to start operating in Q1 2025, with completion in 2027. Once finished, it will capture and store an estimated 0.81
Also in this section
2 January 2026
This year may be a defining one for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the US, despite the institutional uncertainty
23 December 2025
Legislative reform in Germany sets the stage for commercial carbon capture and transport at a national level, while the UK has already seen financial close on major CCS clusters
15 December 2025
Net zero is not the problem for the UK’s power system. The real issue is with an outdated market design in desperate need of modernisation
28 November 2025
The launch of the bloc’s emissions trading system in 2005 was a pioneering step, but as the scheme hits 21 its impact as a driver of decarbonisation is still open to debate
