Aker Carbon Capture ASA has announced an agreement with SLB (aka Schlumberger Ltd) to combine their respective carbon capture businesses to support accelerated industrial decarbonisation at scale.
Bringing together complementary technology portfolios, process design expertise and an established project delivery platform, the partnership intends to exploit ACC’s commercial carbon capture product offering and SLB’s new technology developments and industrialisation capability, to create a vehicle for accelerating the introduction of early-stage technologies into the global market on a commercial, proven platform. Following the transaction, SLB will own 80% of the combined business and ACC will own 20%.
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The International Energy Agency sees carbon capture, utilisation, and sequestration (CCUS) playing a critical role in the net-zero transition – estimating that over one gigatonne of CO2 per year will need to be captured by 2030, scaling up to over six gigatonnes by 2050.
“The decision to combine ACC and SLB’s carbon capture business is underpinned by a strategic vision that reflects our commitment to accelerate the industrial adoption of carbon capture,” said Egil Fagerland, chief executive officer, ACC. “By partnering with SLB, we will become a diversified, global carbon capture player.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close by end of the second quarter, 2024.
At closing, SLB will pay NOK 4.12 billion in cash to ACC for the purchase of 80% of the shares in Aker Carbon Capture Holding AS (ACCH), which holds the business of ACC. In addition, ACC will retain NOK 0.40 billion in cash. The sum of the purchase price for ACCH and retained cash corresponds to a value per ACC share of NOK 9.19. In addition, ACC will be entitled to a performance-based payment of up to NOK 1.36 billion.
ACCH will pay USD 50 million to purchase SLB’s carbon capture business.
The co-operation between ACC and SLB as shareholders of the combined business, will be governed by a shareholders’ agreement. After a lock-up period of three years, ACC will be entitled to sell its stake in ACCH to SLB during a period of six months, under a put option.
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