Trial Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)

Introduction

The Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline is a proposal for an underground pipeline to transport carbon dioxide produced by industrial projects in the Humber region to secure offshore storage under the North Sea. The pipeline would run between Drax and Easington. The pipeline is essential for the UK to meet its net zero targets; the Humber region would also benefit from an influx of job opportunities, skills development, and supply chain benefits. Further information on the proposed pipeline is available here.

We held a consultation on the early-stage proposals for the pipeline in summer 2024 and we are currently in the process of reviewing the feedback we received. We plan to undertake a further round of consultation on the full pipeline later in 2025.

As we develop our proposals for the pipeline, we are looking at ways to reduce our impact on local communities and the environment. This includes considering how best to lay the pipeline under the Humber, between the Goxhill/East Halton and Paull/Thorngumbald areas.

Previous pipelines that ran under the Humber have been installed using a traditional tunnelling technique. However, we are looking at using a different method, called Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD). Compared to tunnelling, HDD would be quicker, have a reduced environmental impact and generate less construction traffic on the local highway network.

To confirm whether HDD can be used we need to undertake a trial from both sides of the Humber and carry out some other surveys.  In the next few months (and in advance of seeking consent for the Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline) we will be applying for planning permission to enable us to undertake:

• Drilling activities from the south side of the Humber requiring a temporary compound near East Halton and Goxhill, between East Marsh Road and Skitter Road. These works will require planning permission from North Lincolnshire Council. Click here for details.
• Drilling activities from the north side of the Humber requiring a temporary compound near Paull and Thorngumbald, near Dark Lane and Newlands Lane. These works will require planning permission from East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Click here for details.
• Various other surveys and ground investigations in the river itself which are not included in the planning application. Click here for details.

These works will allow us to check that the HDD method is appropriate for the local ground conditions and determine whether it could be used for installing the Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline under the Humber.

We are hoping to submit our planning applications in late Autumn 2025. Upon receipt of the necessary approvals, the construction activities are anticipated to start in Spring 2026.

Ahead of this, we have reached out to local communities to explain the work we plan to undertake for the trial HDD.

We appreciate these works may cause some short-term local disruption, but we are working hard to keep this to a minimum. The feedback received during our public consultation on the trial HDD project will help us to manage this.

The trial HDD consultation is entirely separate from the statutory consultation exercise which will be undertaken to inform our proposed future application for a Development Consent Order for the Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline. This is expected to take place later in 2025, following a non-statutory consultation which took place in Summer 2024.