Wood Group is to create 50 jobs in the UK as it looks at transforming a gas storage field for hydrogen.
The engineering consultancy has been hired by Centrica Energy Storage (CES) to look at getting the Rough field in the North Sea ready for the future.
The site has been used to store natural gas for more than 30 years and is estimated to have the potential to provide more than half of the UK’s hydrogen storage needs.
Wood is working on engineering designs for new pipelines and onshore facilities at the Easington gas terminal in Yorkshire as the first step in making Rough ready to accept hydrogen.
Steve Nicol, Executive President, Operations at Wood said: “We are proud to be a part of this innovative redevelopment project, critical to both the UK’s long-term energy security and its industrial decarbonisation commitments.
"Hydrogen, alongside offshore wind and carbon capture and storage is vital to the UK’s net zero ambition and will be key to decarbonising industries, transport and power.
“Wood’s strong heritage in the UK’s offshore and onshore sectors, combined with our deep domain knowledge and engineering expertise means we are uniquely placed to modify and redevelop existing infrastructure, providing safe, reliable energy for the UK’s future requirements.”
Martin Scargill, Managing Director, Centrica Energy Storage said: “We have huge ambitions for the future of Rough and our partnership with Wood is an important stepping stone on the path to realising those ambitions. We are ready to invest in futureproofing this critical asset subject to agreeing a regulatory support model that would underpin gas storage investment in the UK.”