If the oil industry can come up with viable solutions for how to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and hide it away, it will have a trump card on its hand at a time when many criticize its players for being climate villains.

And normally when Equinor drills in the underground, the company fears drilling dry. However, in a new project, the exact purpose of the drillings made by the Norwegian company in conjunction with two other oil giants, Shell and Total, is to avoid striking oil and gas.