The agreement for lease will allow bp, as lead operator, to further progress its planned ‘Endurance’ CCS project, a reservoir in the rock deep below the North Sea which would be used to store hard-to-abate carbon emissions captured from carbon-intensive heavy industry. The scale of the project means it has the potential to substantially decarbonise the UK’s industrial emissions, significantly supporting UK Government ambitions to capture and store 20–30 MtCO2 per year by 2030.

The Hogan Lovells team was led by partners Nicholas Roberts and Scott Tindall with support from counsel Mark Nash and senior associate Sanjay Davé.

Nicholas Roberts, real estate partner at Hogan Lovells said: “Working on pioneering projects and creating innovative documents is a career ambition for any lawyer but to do this with The Crown Estate, and form part of a team working towards UK Net Zero, that is a real privilege.”

Scott Tindall, infrastructure, energy and projects partner at Hogan Lovells, added: “This latest deal for The Crown Estate is yet another example of Hogan Lovells being at the forefront of the global energy transition movement and at the centre of the UK’s efforts to decarbonise. Being involved in a first of a kind CCUS project in a brand new regulated industry, is something that we are very proud of and we look forward to working on other similar transactions with this highly-valued client in the years to come.”