THE Stanlow refinery is expected to reduce its CO2 emissions by 95 per cent in the next five years.

Essar Oil UK is investing $1.2 billion in decarbonising the refinery over the next few years, cutting its carbon dioxide by an equivalent of two million tons per year.

The oil giant has this month announced its second key licensor technology provider, Topsoe, for the planned EET Industrial Carbon Capture – 'ICC' – facility at Stanlow.

Danish-based gas company Topsoe will provide its sustainable flue-gas treatment technology, called SNOX (TM).

Essar says this is a pivotal step towards making Stanlow the world’s first low carbon refinery and a producer of low carbon fuels.

Deepak Maheshwari, CEO of Essar Oil UK, said: “We are ready to move into the next phase of Essar Oil UK’s decarbonisation strategy. With an investment of $1.2 billion, Essar Oil UK is positioned to be the world’s first low carbon refinery.

"The industrial carbon capture facility, combined with our upcoming hydrogen fuel switching project, will reduce the refinery’s CO2 emissions by 95 per cent. Topsoe is a valuable partner in this endeavour.

"With Topsoe SNOX technology we are getting a well proven and highly sustainable flue-gas treatment.”

Essar’s overall decarbonisation strategy plans to reduce refinery emissions with two state-of-the-art project.

The ICC project, announced at Stanlow in November 2022, aims to be operational by 2028. The project will result in an annual emissions reduction of about one million tons of CO2.

It comes in addition to hydrogen fuel switching from natural gas to hydrogen as fuel source, resulting in a further annual emissions reduction of about one million tons of CO2.

With the selection of Topsoe and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Essar Oil UK has identified most of its technology partners and is ready to progress to the front-end engineering design phase of the project. Development of the basic engineering design packages for the licensed technologies is already ongoing.

Elena Scaltritti, CCO at Topsoe, said: “We are thrilled to have been chosen as technology licensor for Essar Oil UK and support them in meeting their decarbonisation targets.

"The agreement represents a landmark step for Topsoe’s development in the United Kingdom, and we look forward to working with Essar on this important project, which is a great example of how the fossil industry can decarbonise itself.”