SLB Named Strategic Reservoir Partner for Havstjerne Carbon Storage Project
Global energy technology company SLB (NYSE: SLB) has been selected as the strategic reservoir partner for the Havstjerne carbon storage project in the Norwegian North Sea, marking another step toward the development of large-scale offshore carbon capture and storage infrastructure designed to serve industrial emitters across Europe.
Under the agreement, SLB will provide technology, engineering and subsurface expertise during the concept and front-end engineering and design (FEED) phases of the Havstjerne development. The company will work alongside Harbour Energy (LSE: HBR), which operates the project in partnership with Stella Maris CCS, a Yinson Production company.
The Havstjerne project is being developed as a large-scale offshore carbon storage solution in Norway. Its objective is to create infrastructure capable of receiving and permanently storing carbon dioxide captured from industrial facilities, supporting efforts by European industries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining reliable operations.
SLB’s role will bring together several technical disciplines involved in developing the storage system. The company will coordinate work covering underground reservoir analysis, injection well design, subsea infrastructure and monitoring strategies for stored CO2. By integrating these areas during the early development stages, the project partners aim to establish a detailed technical, cost and schedule basis before reaching a final investment decision.
The scope will include concept studies and FEED activities delivered through collaboration between SLB and its OneSubsea joint venture. This approach is designed to connect subsurface and reservoir considerations with the engineering requirements of wells and offshore injection infrastructure.
“Carbon storage projects are moving from individual technical studies toward integrated development models that connect the subsurface, wells and offshore infrastructure,” said Gavin Rennick, president of SLB’s New Energy and Industrial business. He added that Havstjerne demonstrates SLB’s ability to combine technology, engineering and project integration capabilities to help customers establish the technical foundation required for major carbon storage developments.
As part of its responsibilities, SLB will conduct the early engineering study and support subsurface and reservoir maturation activities, as well as work related to wells. The company’s OneSubsea joint venture will focus on the concept and FEED for the subsea injection system.
The subsea scope is expected to include the template manifold, all-electric trees, control system, umbilical and distribution system. These components will form an important part of the infrastructure required to transport and inject captured CO2 into the offshore storage reservoir.
The integrated development model is intended to improve coordination among the various technical elements of the project. Carbon storage developments require close alignment between reservoir characteristics, injection wells, subsea equipment, monitoring systems and surface or floating facilities. Managing these interfaces at an early stage can help project developers identify engineering challenges, optimize designs and establish clearer cost and schedule expectations.
For Havstjerne, the strategy also aims to reduce the number of technical and contractual interfaces associated with the development. Bringing multiple elements together under a coordinated engineering framework could help the partners improve consistency between the subsurface and offshore portions of the project as it progresses toward a final investment decision.
An important milestone for Havstjerne was achieved in 2025 when an appraisal well confirmed reservoir quality suitable for CO2 injection and storage. The appraisal results provide an important technical foundation for continued maturation of the project and help support further evaluation of the reservoir’s potential for long-term carbon storage.
The project also received significant financial backing in 2025, securing €225 million from the European Union Innovation Fund. The funding provides additional support for advancing the development and reflects the broader European interest in establishing carbon capture and storage infrastructure capable of supporting emissions-intensive industries.
Havstjerne has selected a low-pressure floating storage and injection concept as part of its development strategy. The concept is designed around system reliability, cost efficiency and commercial flexibility. A floating approach could provide the project with a flexible offshore platform for receiving, storing and injecting CO2 while supporting the broader objective of developing an economically competitive storage service for European emitters.
“ Havstjerne is being matured to provide a cost-effective, large-scale offshore CO2 storage for European industrial emitters,” said Mark van Aerssen, Havstjerne project manager. He noted that the integrated approach will help the partnership further define the project’s technical, cost and schedule basis while improving coordination across critical project interfaces.
The selection of SLB comes as carbon capture and storage continues to attract attention as part of Europe’s strategy for reducing emissions from sectors where direct electrification or other decarbonization technologies may be difficult to deploy. Industries such as cement, chemicals, refining, steel and other heavy manufacturing operations can generate significant CO2 emissions, creating demand for transportation and permanent storage infrastructure.
Offshore storage projects can play an important role in this emerging carbon management infrastructure because geological formations beneath the seabed can offer significant storage potential. Norway has been developing its position as a hub for cross-border CO2 management, with projects intended to connect industrial emitters with offshore storage resources.
Havstjerne is being positioned within this broader European carbon storage landscape. By targeting industrial emitters beyond Norway, the project is intended to support a regional model in which captured CO2 can be transported from multiple locations and stored offshore.
Lars Gunnar Vogt, chief technical officer of Yinson Production, said the Havstjerne project demonstrates how collaboration across the carbon storage value chain can help advance practical solutions. He emphasized the potential importance of large-scale and cost-competitive CO2 storage infrastructure for industrial customers and said Yinson Production looks forward to continuing its collaboration with Harbour Energy and SLB.
The partnership between SLB, OneSubsea, Harbour Energy and Stella Maris CCS brings together capabilities spanning reservoir evaluation, well engineering, subsea technology, project development and offshore infrastructure. This combination is particularly important during the concept and FEED stages, when key technical decisions can influence the eventual capital requirements, operating model and schedule of a major energy infrastructure project.
For SLB, the Havstjerne agreement also expands its involvement in the growing carbon management market. The company has been developing capabilities aimed at supporting customers across the energy transition, including carbon capture, utilization and storage, while applying its existing expertise in subsurface engineering, wells and offshore technology.
The next phase of Havstjerne’s development will focus on refining the technical concept and establishing a stronger basis for investment decisions. SLB’s integrated scope is expected to contribute to the maturation of the reservoir, wells and subsea injection system while helping the project partners evaluate costs, schedules and engineering requirements.
The work will ultimately support the partnership’s preparation for a final investment decision. If the project progresses through subsequent development stages, Havstjerne could become an important component of Norway’s offshore carbon storage infrastructure and provide European industrial companies with additional options for managing captured CO2.
The selection of SLB therefore represents more than an engineering services agreement. It reflects the increasing emphasis on integrating subsurface knowledge, well design and offshore infrastructure from the earliest stages of carbon storage projects. For Havstjerne, this integration is intended to support a reliable, commercially flexible and cost-effective development capable of addressing the needs of European industrial emitters.
With the reservoir appraisal completed, EU Innovation Fund support secured and the low-pressure floating storage and injection concept selected, the project now enters another important phase of technical maturation. SLB’s involvement will focus on connecting these elements into an integrated development plan as the Havstjerne partnership works toward defining the project’s technical, financial and scheduling requirements ahead of a final investment decision.
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