the power of collaboration: teaming up with microsoft, slb

A collaboration between Chevron, SLB (formerly Schlumberger) and Microsoft has allowed Chevron to increase efficiency, via the creation of a collaborative IT platform where Chevron can store and analyze different types of data.

Now in its fifth year, the three-way collaboration has helped Chevron connect subsurface professionals with enormous amounts of information. It has also provided ways for Chevron to work smarter.

Before Chevron engaged in this initiative, some subsurface employees were found to be spending as much as 75% of their time looking for data.

“When you think about that from the lens of an engineer or scientist, that leaves very little time for them to do the actual science,” said Jacob Umbriaco, Chevron subsurface digital platform manager. “We were trying to figure out how to remove that barrier—and we are succeeding in doing that.”

The collaboration is focused on three products: FDPlan, DrillPlan and DrillOps.

FDPlan leverages the power of high-performance computing to bring subsurface models together. By doing so, it helps employees use the best data available to make faster and better decisions in highly complex environments.

In the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, FDPlan allows Chevron to quickly analyze different options for developing a reservoir, to ensure that its teams focus on the best scenario.

DrillPlan is used by engineers who are developing drilling plans, and DrillOps is a platform used by the teams that drill the wells.

With DrillPlan, Chevron has cut 30 days off its deepwater well planning process. In Argentina, the tool has helped the company reduce its well planning cycle time for an eight-well pad from two weeks to less than a day.

Collaborations like these can create a competitive advantage.

“By leveraging the strengths of Microsoft and SLB, we are setting new standards,” Umbriaco said.