SK Earthon and Azuli International (Azuli) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, dated December 27, 2022, which sets in place the framework for the two companies to work together to identify and develop Carbon capture and storage (CCS) enabled solutions globally.

Azuli is an independent CCS specialist company based in the UK with a portfolio of global CCS opportunities including some in Australia, UK, Continental Europe as well as the US. Azuli was recently started up by the management team who successfully set up Lapis Energy LP in the US which had already secured leading positions in at least two opportunities in the Lower 48. It has offices in London, Houston and Perth, West Australia.

The MOU is the first step in establishing a global strategic partnership for the two companies. SK Earthon and Azuli intend to work together to identify and progress opportunities that could be developed jointly whereby industrial scale emissions of CO₂ could be transported (by pipeline or ship) for permanent sequestration in geological formations, in projects that are technically robust and commercially viable. The two companies will first seek CCS business opportunities in Australia and the United States, where CCS-related legal systems are established, and then the parties will expand to explore CCS business opportunities worldwide, including Korea.

CCS is a core strand of the energy transition, potentially enabling industrial decarbonization at scale and assisting the international community in achieving its Net Zero targets. SK Earthon aims to accelerate Green Transformation strategy and achieve carbon-neutrality through CCS business by utilizing its expertise and unique exploration and potentially provide as a solution for Korean emissions in the Asia Pacific region.

“This move allows for us to put real impetus into a new phase of growth, both looking to leverage the wealth of opportunities on offer in the US following the changes to 45Q, whilst securing improved alignment between growth opportunities and the capital better suited to such new ventures both in terms of global reach and development risk,” said Hamish Wilson, CEO of Azuli. “We welcome the opportunity to work with SK Earthon and leverage our combined expertise to develop first-class CCS projects in range of global locations,” he added.

Roh Jeong-yong, Head of SK Earthon E&P Tech. Center, commented, “SK Earthon has a new vision to become a private company that leads eco-friendly business linked with the CCS and will contribute to achieving Korea’s CO₂ reduction target.” He continued, “Therefore, it is inspiring to cooperate with Azuli and we look forward to working with Azuli on various CCS endeavors around the world”.