Last week, Microsoft announced a five-year, cloud-centric partnership with The Walt Disney Studios to create content work flows on Azure. The tech giant has continued its collaborations in the cloud environment by now announcing a team-up with Schlumberger and Chevron at the SIS Global Forum 2019. This will be garnered toward the building and deployment of Azure-native applications in the DELFI cognitive E&P environment.
DELFI is an open cloud-based environment that was introduced by Schlumberger a couple of years back. Utilizing its collaborative capabilities, Chevron and Schlumberger will be aiming to bring more DELFI solutions in Azure, with assistance from Microsoft. Moreover, all firms involved will ensure the meeting of the latest security and performance standards, making software developments compatible with the Open Subsurface Data Universe (OSDU) Data Platform.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella commented on this endeavour in the following manner:
"There is an enormous opportunity to bring the latest cloud and AI technology to the energy sector and accelerate the industry’s digital transformation. 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."
Meanwhile, Olivier Le Peuch, CEO of Schlumberger highlighted the extent of this partnership, noting that, "Never before has our industry seen a collaboration of this kind, and of this scale". Joseph C. Geagea, EVP of Technology, Projects, and Services at Chevron, pointed towards the exploration opportunities it would help provide, stating, "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."
The project will consist of three phases: the deployment of the Petrotechnical Suite in the DELFI environment, the building of cloud-native applications on Azure, and the offering of a suite of cognitive computing native capabilities across the E&P value chain, catering to Chevron's objectives. Development on the open DELFI foundation is hoped to enhance the work of the aforementioned firm's petrotechnical experts.
