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BP and two other oil giants will sign deals worth £4bn today, a major step forward in turning Teesside into a green energy powerhouse.
It will be the biggest investment in generations in the region, which was once dominated by the now-defunct steel industry and chemical plants owned by former British titan ICI.
FTSE 100 oil company BP is investing huge sums in the area as part of a plan to invest £18bn in the UK by 2030.
Today nine contractors have been signed, including the construction company Costain and the telecommunications operator Alcatel.
Liberty Steel in nearby Hartlepool will be named as one of the contractors. It will supply land and sea pipelines.
Investment: FTSE 100 oil company BP is investing huge sums in Teeside (pictured) as part of a plan to invest £18bn in the UK by 2030
The news will be welcomed by Conservatives, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose constituency is near Richmond, as a boost to a Red Wall zone.
Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, said: “This is the biggest investment in Teesside since ICI.”
The contractors will work on two projects. Net Zero Teesside Power is a joint venture with Norway’s Equinor.
It aims to be the world’s first commercial-scale gas-fired power plant using carbon capture and hopes to produce enough green electricity for 1.3 million homes. Up to 3,000 jobs could be created in construction and another 1,000 in its management.
The Northern Endurance Partnership will see BP working with Equinor and France’s Total. It is developing the transport and storage of CO2 in the North Sea.
BP and its partners hope that the Government will give the green light to the contracts in September and that the projects will be open for activity from 2027.
Houchen added: “Our area is now the world’s leading center for the development of clean and green industries of the future, which… will generate high-skilled, well-paid jobs.” He said it will benefit businesses “up and down the local supply chain.”
Martin Curnow, of Liberty Pipes Hartlepool, said he was “extremely proud to have been selected”. BP’s plans include two hydrogen projects.
One is green hydrogen, where the gas is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity. The other is the “blue” one, where hydrogen is produced using natural gas.
It is one of several companies investing billions of pounds in the 4,500-acre site of the former Redcar steelworks, now known as Teesworks.
However, that remodeling has been mired in controversy.
An investigation found no evidence of corruption or illegality by the South Tees Development Corporation, chaired by Houchen. Michael Gove, the Leveling Up secretary, has asked the mayor for a report by the autumn on how he will improve governance of the complex regeneration scheme.