Harbour Energy and bp signed an agreement to develop the Viking CCS transportation and storage project.

Harbour will be the project’s operator of Viking CCS with a 60% working-interest, with bp acquiring a 40% non-operated share, the company said in a statement.

The announcement came after the UK’s recent decision to launch the Track 2 cluster sequencing process for carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology that removes carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere and stores it underground.

Over the past few years, efforts in Europe to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it underground have accelerated as governments and industry work to cut emissions in order to achieve their climate targets.

According to Harbour, the government recognises Viking CCS as one of the top competitors for this process’ transport and storage system, and a final investment decision on the project is anticipated in 2024, pending the success of the Track 2 CCS.