Orcadian has commenced the assessment phase for a project aiming to utilise gas from the Earlham and Orwell fields in the North Sea to power an offshore data centre with integrated carbon capture.
The assessment is intended to develop the gas fields on the company’s 100% owned licence, P2680.
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Orcadian outlined its preferred approach to include an offshore power station fuelled by field gas, combined with CO₂ capture and reinjection into the reservoir.
The plan would see around 200MW supplied to a co-located data centre as part of an initial phase of what Orcadian calls the “Earlham Gigagrid”, an islanded, low-carbon, offshore grid.
According to Orcadian, the high CO₂ content (49%) of gas from the Earlham field has made traditional pipeline export routes uneconomical.
The firm is proposing on-site power generation, with captured CO₂ providing pressure support through reservoir reinjection.
Estimates suggest the Earlham field contains 114 billion cubic feet (bcf) of methane, while the previously depleted Orwell field is thought capable of delivering a further 31bcf.
Orcadian has created a new entity, Earlham Gigagrid, to oversee the project and intends to assign its licence interest to a subsidiary of that company, pending regulatory approval from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA).
The company is preparing a Concept Select Report for the developments, and notes that third-party investment opportunities may arise in future stages.
Orcadian CEO Steve Brown said: “We believe that this development concept for Earlham, focussed on generating low-carbon power offshore to supply an offshore data centre, can be transformational for the value of our P2680 licence. That is why we have established Gigagrid.
“Orcadian intends to develop the project opportunity, to invite proposals to participate from third party investors, and at the right stage to invite participation in the project from among the Hyper-scalers and the growing band of Neo-scalers who may find the opportunity to expand the project to gigawatt scale attractive.”
Plans, subject to necessary approvals, include a wellhead platform supporting two production wells and one CO₂ injection well, linked to the power station and adjacent data centre.
