SBM Offshore takes stake in Blue Power hub developer

SBM Offshore has made an initial equity investment in Ocean-Power, based in Ronglan, Norway.

It follows a memorandum of understanding that both parties signed last June.

SBM views the arrangement as providing entry point for its carbon capture capability in the power market.

Ocean-Power’s “Blue Power Hub” concept involves generating electricity using gas turbines in association with carbon capture and storage to lower CO₂ emissions. The hub is designed to supply power to offshore facilities and national grids, and it could support electrification of the Norwegian and UK continental shelves with a positive impact on respective grids, according to SBM.

Electricity production would come via combined cycle power plants (gas turbines and steam turbines). CO₂ captured from the exhaust could be injected directly into a nearby geological formation or an offshore pipeline, or liquefied and transported by a vessel for potential use elsewhere.