Spirit Energy

Spirit Energy is an exploration and production company that has operated the South and North Morecambe gas fields in the East Irish Sea for more than 40 years, providing a significant proportion of the UK's domestic gas supply.

As production from these fields approaches the end of its productive life, Spirit Energy is leading a major transition, repurposing the depleted reservoirs into the Morecambe Net Zero (MNZ) cluster, one of the UK's most significant proposed carbon capture and storage hubs. Granted a carbon storage licence by the North Sea Transition Authority in 2023, the MNZ cluster has the capacity to store up to one gigaton of CO₂ — the equivalent of three years of current UK carbon emissions — and could initially store over 5 million tonnes per year, scaling to 25 million tonnes.

The project will accept CO₂ transported by pipeline, ship and rail, making it accessible to industrial sites across the UK that lack direct pipeline connections. As part of the MNZ | Peak Cluster joint venture, Spirit Energy is also providing the permanent storage solution for 40% of the UK's cement and lime industry emissions, a project backed by £28.6 million from the National Wealth Fund. Spirit Energy's transition from gas producer to carbon store operator is central to the North West's industrial decarbonisation ambitions.