OneSubsea, a joint venture of global technology company SLB, has secured an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract from Equinor for phase two of the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage (CCS) project offshore Norway.

This contract signifies a major step in the project following the final investment decision (FID) by Northern Lights' owners – TotalEnergies, Shell and Equinor – and a commercial agreement with an end-use customer.

The contract awarded to SLB OneSubsea includes the engineering and construction of two new satellite subsea CO₂ injection systems with associated tie-in equipment.

Project work has already begun, with the initial deliveries anticipated in 2026.

This contract comes after the successful completion and delivery of two subsea injection systems for the project's first phase in 2023.

The Northern Lights project, part of the world's first open-source, full-scale value chain for CO₂ capture, transport and storage services, is set to expand its capacity from 1.5 million tonnes (mt) to a minimum of 5mt of CO₂ per year with phase two.

The project's growth is also supported by a grant from the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy funding scheme.

SLB OneSubsea CEO Mads Hjelmeland said: “Equinor’s enduring commitment to subsea standardisation is now yielding substantial benefits across new offshore value chains, including CO₂ storage. By utilising standardised components, we achieve reduced risk and economies of scale, which enhance both traditional and innovative subsea projects.

“The Northern Lights project is pivotal for Europe’s path toward net-zero emissions, and it is well aligned with our own strategy to expand the frontiers of subsea for a sustainable energy future.”

In May 2025, the Northern Lights project received all necessary permits to inject and store CO₂ in the Aurora CCS licence in the North Sea.

With phase one development completed and fully booked, the project is poised to start operations in the second half of 2025, offering CO₂ storage services to industrial customers.

In a related development, SLB, in partnership with Subsea 7, secured a substantial engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract from bp for the Ginger project offshore Trinidad and Tobago last month.