A carbon capture and storage project to help tackle emissions is expected to be announced in the Chancellor’s Spending Review statement.

The Acorn Project, based in St Fergus, Aberdeenshire, would store greenhouse gas emissions under the North Sea as a means of meeting net zero ambitions.

It is said to have the potential to extract a million tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere every year, though some sceptics say the technology in unproven.

Energy Minister Sarah Jones has told MPs that a decision is imminent. She said: “We have always been clear that we support the Acorn Project” adding “we know what an important proposal it is.”

In March UK Net Zero and Energy Security Secretary Ed Miliband responded to a parliamentary question from Aberdeenshire North and Moray East SNP MP Seamus Logan by saying a decision would be made at the June Spending Review.

Today, Mr Logan said it was a long-overdue commitment after years of campaigning by the SNP and the Scottish energy sector.

“England has been allocated £22 billion for carbon capture, so I would expect investment in Scotland to be at a commensurate level,” he said.

“After decades of broken promises, funding snubs and delays from Westminster – including over the past year – it is essential that adequate funding, full details and a concrete commitment to the project is now delivered by the UK government at pace – and the devil will be in the detail of the announcement, which we will study carefully.”

Acorn was put on a reserve list in 2021 behind four hubs approved for North West England and North Wales, along with the East Coast Cluster in Teesside and Humber. These were selected as Track 1 Clusters.

Storegga, the UK decarbonisation developer, and Mitsui & Co the Japanese trading and investment company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2022 to roll-out the project.

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