Schlumberger, Chevron and Microsoft have launched a cloud-based artificial intelligence platform to improve a digital services in the oil field.
The companies issued a joint statement from the SIS Global Forum in Monaco announcing the launch of DELFI, a cloud-based platform loaded with software for exploration, development, production, storage tanks and pipeline projects.
“Never before has our industry seen a collaboration of this kind, and of this scale,” Schlumberger CEO Olivier Le Peuch said in a statement. “Working together will accelerate faster innovation with better results, marking the beginning of a new era in our industry that will enable us to elevate performance across our industry’s value chain.”
Initially developed by Schlumberger for Chevron, DELFI resides entirely on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform. Cloud computing, which relies on internet connections to powerful online servers, is rising in popularity in the oil & gas industry.
In addition to saving money and space on computer equipment and processing power, software and artificial programs on cloud computing platforms allow exploration and production computers to see the big picture and patterns in the data that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
The DELFI platform is expected to speed up data analysis and the time needed to develop projects, Chevron Executive Vice President of Technology, Projects and Services Joseph Geagea said in a statement.
“It will pull vast quantities of information into a single source amplifying our use of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing built on an open data ecosystem,” Geagea said.
The product launch comes at a time when Silicon Valley companies such as Microsoft and Amazon are expanding their services for oil field customers.
“There is an enormous opportunity to bring the latest cloud and AI technology to the energy sector and accelerate the industry’s digital transformation,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement. “Our partnership with Schlumberger and Chevron delivers on this promise, applying the power of Azure to unlock new AI-driven insights that will help address some of the industry’s—the world’s—most important energy challenges, including sustainability.”
This article first appeared on the Houston Chronicle – an Energy Voice content partner. For more from the Houston Chronicle click here.