en.Wedoany.com Reported - Orcadian Energy plc (listed on the London AIM market), which focuses on oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, has initiated an evaluation phase for an offshore power station and co-located data center within the P2680 license area. The facility will be built atop a gas discovery that has been shelved for three decades due to nearly half of its natural gas being carbon dioxide.
Orcadian announced the formation of a new company, Earlham Gigagrid Ltd, and plans to transfer its 100% interest in the P2680 license to a subsidiary of Gigagrid. This southern North Sea license contains the Earlham gas discovery, the decommissioned Orwell field, and the undrilled Clover prospect.
The proposed complex consists of three platforms connected by bridges: a wellhead platform (supporting two production wells and one carbon dioxide injection well), a power station, and a data center hall mounted on a dedicated jacket. The first phase will provide approximately 200 megawatts of power (in terms of IT load), with high rack density supported by direct-to-chip liquid cooling. Orcadian believes subsequent halls could deliver over 1 gigawatt of dispatchable low-carbon electricity without adding pressure to the national grid.
Steve Brown, CEO of Orcadian, stated in the announcement that the development concept for Earlham focuses on producing low-carbon electricity offshore to supply an offshore data center, which could transform the value of the P2680 license. The company does not intend to build the facility itself, expecting development to be undertaken by a hyperscale cloud provider or a new type of cloud provider, naming companies such as CoreWeave, Nebius, and Crusoe Cloud.
The Earlham gas contains 49% carbon dioxide, making pipeline export to shore unattractive. Talisman discovered the field in 1995, and BP abandoned an appraisal well the following year due to carbon dioxide content. The company's directors believe that generating electricity at the field, capturing the carbon dioxide, and reinjecting it into the reservoir is now the best way to monetize this resource.
Since Earlham gas alone has poor combustion properties, Orcadian will blend it with Orwell gas to achieve an average methane content of 50%. According to the company's estimates, on a P50 basis, Earlham holds 114 billion cubic feet of methane, and the redevelopment of Orwell could provide an additional 31 billion cubic feet.
Orcadian is only just beginning to prepare a concept selection report; everything thereafter depends on the North Sea Transition Authority approving the transfer of P2680 and issuing a no-objection letter, as well as all other permits, including any required carbon storage licenses. The company has not yet determined which turbine can burn this low-calorific-value gas, stating this is a key output of the concept selection process. Additionally, the announcement did not disclose the plateau production rate or field life for the combined 145 billion cubic feet of resources.
