SLB Buys Majority Share in Aker Carbon Capture

Global energy technology company SLB has agreed to acquire an 80 percent ownership in Aker Carbon Capture (ACC).

SLB said in a media release this move will support accelerated industrial decarbonization at scale.

SLB stated that ACC will own a 20 percent stake in the resulting entity, which integrates complementary technology portfolios, top process design knowledge, and a well-established project delivery system. This partnership will capitalize on ACC's existing commercial carbon capture solutions and SLB's advancements in technology and industrialization capacity, SLB said. Together, they aim to fast-track the integration of cutting-edge early-stage technology into the global market using a proven commercial platform.

SLB noted that according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) will play a critical role in the net-zero transition. The agency estimates that over one gigaton of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year will need to be captured by 2030, scaling up to over six gigatons by 2050.

“For CCUS to have the expected impact on supporting global net-zero ambitions, it will need to scale up 100-200 times in less than three decades”, said Olivier Le Peuch, chief executive officer at SLB. “Crucial to this scale-up is the ability to lower capture costs, which often represent as much as 50-70 percent of the total spend of a CCUS project. We are excited to create this business with ACC to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture technologies that will shift the economics of carbon capture across high-emitting industrial sectors”.

SLB said it will pay $381.8 million (NOK 4.12 billion) for the 80 percent stake of Aker Carbon Capture Holding AS, which holds the business of ACC. It will also contribute its carbon capture business to the resulting company.

Based on the performance of the business, SLB could make additional payments of $126 million (NOK 1.36 billion), over the next years, it said.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter.

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