“Together with our partners, PGS is forging a new industry to enable safe and efficient carbon storage offshore,” PGS' new energy executive vice president Berit Osnes said.

“The Asia Pacific region is one of the key markets where CCS enables a path to net zero. We are delighted to conclude this agreement with dCS and look forward to supporting dCS in unlocking the potential of the CCS value chain in the region.”

The move comes in tandem with the companies entering into a subscription agreement for dCS to issue shares to PGS in exchange for the Norwegian player providing geological and geophysical advisory services.

dCS is actively pursuing greenhouse gas storage sites and the agreement complements a A$5 million (US$3.37 million) grant from the Australian government that enables dCS to begin pre-front engineering and design on what could be Asia Pacific’s first floating CCS project — CStore1.

“We are pleased to welcome PGS as our new shareholder,” dCS chairman Jack Sato said. “Participation of the leading company in marine geophysics industry further endorses our business model and development of CStore1. Further, this valued partnership demonstrates our commitment to develop a leading CCS business in the Asia Pacific region.”