SK earthon Co., a South Korean oil exploration and production (E&P) company, said Thursday it has joined a project to build a submarine carbon storage facility in Australia in its business diversification strategy.

SK earthon invested in 20 percent of the project, with InCapture, an Australian carbon capture and storage (CCS) company, holding 75 percent and CCS technology consulting firm CarbonCQ holding 5 percent, the company said in a statement.

The three companies will explore the G-15-AP submarine mining area off the northwest coast of the country in the next six years to see if it is the right site to store carbon captured from industries in Australia, it said.

"If they find business value in the project, the companies will build the undersea facility and sign deals with local companies for the CCS business starting 2030," a company spokesperson said over the phone.

SK earthon has mainly focused on overseas oil E&P projects but now it aims to foster the CCS business as a new growth driver. It has invested in 10 oil development projects in eight countries.

SK earthon is the wholly owned energy unit of SK innovation Co., the country's leading refiner, which is part of the chip-to-construction conglomerate SK Group. (Yonhap)