SLB AI Initiatives for 2025: Key Projects, Strategies and Partnerships

SLB’s Carbon Capture Play: From Strategic Investment to Commercial Deployment in the North Sea

SLB is navigating the energy transition by making calculated, decisive moves into the carbon capture and storage (CCS) sector. Analysis of its activities from 2021 to the present reveals a clear trajectory from strategic positioning to tangible, large-scale commercial engagement. The company is leveraging its subsurface expertise and pairing it with significant capital investment and advanced AI capabilities to build a formidable presence in industrial decarbonization, with Europe’s North Sea emerging as its primary theater of operations.

Industry Adoption: A Shift from Financial Commitment to Project Execution

Between 2021 and 2024, SLB laid the strategic groundwork for its decarbonization ambitions. The 2022 rebranding from Schlumberger to SLB was a clear signal of its pivot toward technology and sustainability, explicitly including industrial decarbonization as a core focus. This strategic shift was substantiated in March 2024 with a significant capital injection of approximately $380 million into a carbon capture company. This move represented a material commitment, transitioning SLB from an interested observer to a financial stakeholder in the CCS value chain. During this period, the company also formed a crucial partnership with Geminus AI to apply physics-informed AI models to complex systems, including carbon capture, indicating a focus on building a technological edge for future operations.

The period from January 2025 to today marks a critical inflection point where strategy and investment have translated into commercial reality. The most significant development occurred in July 2025, when SLB was awarded a technologies and services contract for the Northern Endurance Partnership project, a major carbon storage initiative in the UK North Sea. This contract moves SLB beyond investment and into the realm of direct project execution and service delivery. This transition from a capital provider to a core technology partner on a landmark project demonstrates a rapid maturation of its CCS strategy and validates its market-ready capabilities. This progression signals that for SLB, CCS is no longer an emerging opportunity but a present-day business line with tangible contracts and operational responsibilities.

Investment: Backing Strategy with Significant Capital

SLB has supported its strategic goals in carbon capture with targeted, substantial investments. This financial backing has been pivotal in securing the company’s position and acquiring the necessary technology and market access. The primary investment demonstrates a clear focus on acquiring capabilities within the European CCS market, a global leader in decarbonization projects.

Table: SLB Carbon Capture and Enabling Technology Investments (2024)

Partnerships: Building a CCS Ecosystem from AI to Execution

SLB’s partnership strategy has evolved from securing foundational technology to engaging in large-scale commercial projects. The collaboration with Geminus AI established a technological advantage, while the subsequent contract with the Northern Endurance Partnership demonstrates the successful application of this strategy to win significant commercial work.

Table: SLB Carbon Capture Partnerships and Commercial Agreements (2024 – 2025)

Geography: A Concentrated Bet on the North Sea

SLB’s geographic focus for carbon capture has become increasingly clear and concentrated. Between 2021 and 2024, the primary signal of its geographic interest came from its March 2024 investment of nearly $400 million, denoted in Norwegian kroner, pointing toward a strategic entry into the Norwegian and broader European CCS market. This region is a global hub for CCS policy, technology, and project development, making it a logical entry point for an aspiring market leader.

The period from 2025 to the present has solidified this European focus, specifically pinpointing the North Sea as SLB’s core operational area for CCS. The July 2025 contract award for the Northern Endurance Partnership project in the UK confirms this strategy. The North Sea offers a unique combination of declining oil and gas fields suitable for CO2 storage, a skilled workforce, existing infrastructure, and strong government support. By securing a role in a foundational UK project, SLB has established a strong foothold in a region poised to become the backbone of Europe’s industrial decarbonization efforts. The current data indicates a deliberate concentration of resources in this high-potential area, a strategy that mitigates risk by operating in a mature regulatory environment while simultaneously creating a risk of over-exposure to a single geographic market.

Technology Maturity: From Strategic Acquisition to Commercial-Scale Deployment

The maturity of SLB’s involvement in CCS technology has advanced rapidly. The 2021–2024 period was defined by strategic positioning and capability acquisition. The 2022 rebranding was a statement of intent, but the 2024 investment in a carbon capture company marked a move to acquire commercial-ready technology rather than develop it from scratch. Concurrently, the Geminus AI partnership showed SLB was already working to pilot and integrate next-generation optimization tools (physics-informed AI) with these acquired capabilities, preparing for operational deployment. This phase was about building the toolkit for commercial-scale activity.

From 2025 to today, SLB has transitioned from preparation to execution, signaling the commercial maturity of its offerings. The contract for the Northern Endurance Partnership is the key validation point. This is not a pilot or a demonstration; it is a commercial-scale project to develop a carbon storage site. This move confirms that SLB’s technology and service portfolio for CCS is now market-ready and actively being deployed. The company has successfully moved its CCS business line from the investment and R&D phase to a commercial phase, where it is generating revenue and contributing to one of the world’s most significant decarbonization projects. This validates both the technology’s readiness and SLB’s ability to win in a competitive market.

Table: SWOT Analysis of SLB’s Carbon Capture Strategy

Forward-Looking Insights: From a Foothold to Market Leadership

The data from 2025 signals that SLB is aggressively moving to convert its strategic beachhead in the North Sea into a market leadership position. The Northern Endurance Partnership contract is not an endpoint but a beginning. Market actors should now expect SLB to leverage this flagship project as a powerful case study to pursue similar large-scale CCS contracts, first within the North Sea and then in other emerging hubs like North America and the Middle East. The key signal to watch will be the integration of its AI capabilities, specifically from the Geminus partnership, into its operational workflow for the Northern Endurance project. Any announcements detailing efficiency gains, cost reductions, or performance improvements derived from this AI integration will serve as powerful proof points for its technology-led approach. SLB’s trajectory indicates a clear focus on becoming the go-to technology and services provider for the foundational infrastructure of the global CCS economy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most significant proof that SLB’s carbon capture strategy is now a commercial reality?
The most significant proof is the contract SLB was awarded in July 2025 for the Northern Endurance Partnership project. This moved the company from being a strategic investor to a direct service and technology provider on a major carbon storage project in the UK North Sea, validating that its CCS business is now operational.

How much has SLB invested in carbon capture, and for what purpose?
SLB has made two key investments detailed in the report. In March 2024, it invested approximately $380 million to acquire an 80% stake in a carbon capture company to secure technology and project development capabilities. It also made an undisclosed investment in Geminus AI to exclusively use its physics-informed AI for optimizing operations, including carbon capture.

Why is SLB focusing its carbon capture efforts specifically on the North Sea?
The North Sea is SLB’s primary focus because it offers a unique combination of advantages: depleted oil and gas fields suitable for CO2 storage, existing infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and strong government support for decarbonization projects. This makes it an ideal region to deploy and scale its CCS business.

What role does Artificial Intelligence (AI) play in SLB’s carbon capture strategy?
AI plays a crucial role in giving SLB a technological edge. Through its partnership with Geminus AI, SLB is deploying advanced, physics-informed AI models to optimize complex systems. For carbon capture, this technology is intended to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the performance of its CCS projects.

According to the analysis, what is the primary risk in SLB’s current carbon capture strategy?
The primary risk is over-concentration in a single geographic region—the North Sea. This strategic focus means SLB’s momentum is highly dependent on the success of a few large-scale anchor projects, like the Northern Endurance Partnership. Any delays or issues with these specific projects or shifts in regional policy could pose a significant threat.

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