Petrofac, a leading international service provider to the energy sectors, is pleased to announce that it has become the first company to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as a customer for Storegga’s proposed UK-based, large scale Direct Air Capture (“DAC”) facility. Petrofac has committed to purchase the permanent removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at the facility, delivering a key tool to supplement existing decarbonisation initiatives in support of its Net Zero goals.

The signing of the MOU signals an important step to not only demonstrate the commercial interest in DAC technology in combination with geological storage, but also to highlight the importance of negative emissions technology as a tool to meet the UK’s climate goals.

Storegga and its partner, Carbon Engineering, a leading DAC provider and developer of the technology, have commenced preliminary engineering and design of the proposed UK facility. Under its Technical Delivery Alliance with Storegga, Petrofac is supporting this Pre-Front End Engineering and Design (“Pre-FEED”) phase.

The facility aims to permanently remove one million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually. Targeted for North-East Scotland, the proposed facility will be the first large-scale facility of its kind in Europe. The partners are targeting first operations for 2026.

DAC technology, when combined with secure geological storage, delivers the permanent and verifiable removal of carbon dioxide from the air, reversing the emissions process. DAC is a high quality, technological solution for greenhouse gas removal that can be scaled to meet demand, with very low land and water use. For sectors of the economy that are currently challenging to decarbonise directly, such as aviation, shipping, and oil and gas, this form of greenhouse gas removal provides an effective way to address their carbon footprint and achieve net zero targets. It also delivers a mechanism to eliminate emissions from the past, and as a tool towards achieving full climate restoration.

John Pearson, COO Petrofac, said:

“As well as drawing on our engineering experience to support the design and initial engineering of this project, and other low carbon initiatives like it, Petrofac is committed to decarbonising its own operations, and those of our supply chain. DAC provides a high quality, permanent solution for the removal of CO2, which will support wider strategies for reducing our carbon footprint in line with our target to reach net zero by 2030 or sooner.”

Nick Cooper, CEO Storegga said:

“It is terrific to have Petrofac stepping up and becoming the first customer for our DAC facility in North-East Scotland. This MoU illustrates the commercial viability of DAC for customers and is a key step in delivering the UK and Europe’s first large-scale DAC.

Petrofac’s appetite to become an early DAC customer speaks volumes for their commitment to climate leadership. We are also progressing multiple other parties with similar ambitions and anticipate further announcements as the DAC project continues to accelerate.”