deepC Store and Azuli (Australia) agreed to jointly pursue and acquire Greenhouse Gas ('GHG') storage acreages in offshore Australia. To further strengthen the partnership the Parties signed a letter of intent with PGS to enter into a service-for-equity agreement for the Parties to issue shares to PGS in exchange for PGS providing geological and geophysical advisory services.
Under this partnership:
- deepC Store and Azuli have jointly bid for GHG Assessment Permits released by the Australian Commonwealth Government as per the 2023 offshore GHG storage acreage release.
- PGS supports deepC Store and Azuli joint bid by providing its full suite of seismic interpretation and deep knowledge from geological and geophysical studies. These will be harnessed and integrated to build high resolution injection site modelling and simulation services.
The GHG storage acreage areas are located in Commonwealth waters offshore Australia and has strong potential for significant Carbon Dioxide (CO2) storage capacities.
deepC Store Managing Director, Daein Cha said, 'Australia has potential CO2 storage capacity of 434 billion tonnes (with 73% of the storage residing offshore)(1), which is equivalent to ~870 years worth of Australia’s net emissions(2). Australia is well positioned to offer significant CO2 reduction contributions for its own hard-to-abate industrial sectors via CCS, as well as to play a central role in the decarbonisation of the Asia Pacific region. In doing so this would maximise economic opportunities for Australian businesses and employment as well as forge increased international collaboration and cooperation and assist nations accelerate global progress towards meeting their Paris Agreement goals. We are truly excited to partner with Azuli and PGS to obtain access to GHG storage acreages in Australia.'
Azuli Managing Director, Hamish Wilson said, 'Azuli considers these greenhouse gas licence areas as far reaching, high-quality opportunities, that can support material standalone CCS developments. We are pleased to be working with deepC Store on this offshore venture, which will provide a viable CO2 sequestration option for Australian emissions for major industrial companies such as fertiliser, cement and steel making. We also believe that Australia will play an important role in enabling Japan and Korea’s decarbonisation plans imperative in achieving net zero by 2050. This will be enabled through shipping transboundary CO2 imports to a number of Floating Storage & Injection (FSI) facilities in Commonwealth waters. Azuli and deepC Store are focused on achieving a commercially sustainable cost basis for industrial-level CCS through strategic partnerships with critical supply chain partners PGS and others. We also look forward to progressing our joint venture building strong collaborative relationships with the Australian government. Our shared aim is to ultimately create a successful portfolio of CCS projects for safe and cost effective permanent geological sequestration of Australia’s domestic emissions and those of its Asian trading partners.'
PGS EVP New Energy, Berit Osnes, said, 'At PGS we recognize the importance of achieving global climate goals and the key role CCS will play in enabling this. Geophysical data and expertise are important tools to secure safe and reliable reservoirs for carbon storage. As a partner, PGS continues to support carbon storage developers around the world by providing quality subsurface data and advisory services. The engagement with deepC Store and Azuli on acquiring GHG permits in Australia builds on earlier share subscription agreement with deepC Store (link). We look forward to supporting deepC Store and Azuli on their project journeys in Australia and beyond.'
As a result of this contemplated transaction PGS will become a major shareholder of deepC Store and Azuli.
(1) Carbon Storage Taskforce (2009) 'National Carbon Mapping and Infrastructure Plan – Australia' pages 28 and 31.
(2) Australian Government (2022) 'Australia’s Nationally Determined Contribution – Communication 2022' Page 7.
Source: PGS
