SLB Expands AI Collaboration with NVIDIA to Accelerate Digital Transformation in Energy

SLB has expanded its strategic partnership with NVIDIA to develop advanced artificial intelligence infrastructure tailored to the energy industry.

The collaboration aims to strengthen the ability of energy companies to transform vast volumes of operational and geological data into actionable insights. The announcement comes as SLB’s share price remains close to its 52-week high, reflecting strong investor confidence in the company’s growing focus on digital technologies and energy innovation.

A central element of the partnership is the development of a scalable AI Factory infrastructure designed specifically for energy applications. SLB will act as the modular design partner for NVIDIA’s DSX AI factories, applying off-site manufacturing techniques to reduce costs and shorten development timelines for high-performance data centres.

The companies also plan to establish an “AI Factory for Energy”, a reference environment powered by domain-specific generative AI models. These models will run on SLB’s digital platforms and are intended to help energy companies analyse complex datasets, including subsurface information, operational performance metrics and infrastructure monitoring data.

SLB Chief Technology Officer Demos Pafitis said the companies that succeed in artificial intelligence will be those able to combine high-quality data, deep industry expertise and the ability to deploy solutions at scale.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Troy noted that specialised AI infrastructure and industry-focused models are essential to convert large energy datasets into meaningful operational intelligence.

The initiative will integrate NVIDIA’s Omniverse libraries and Nemotron open models with SLB’s digital ecosystem, supporting a range of technologies including traditional machine learning, generative AI and emerging agentic AI systems.

The collaboration builds on a long-standing relationship between the companies that began in 2008, when NVIDIA’s accelerated computing was first used to enhance SLB’s seismic imaging and subsurface visualisation software. In 2024, the two firms also announced plans to develop generative AI solutions integrated with SLB’s Delfi digital platform and Lumi data environment.

Beyond its digital initiatives, SLB recently secured a subsea contract through its OneSubsea joint venture with China National Offshore Oil Corporation for the Kaiping 18-1 field in the South China Sea. Analysts at BMO Capital Markets estimate that disruptions in the Middle East could slightly affect near-term earnings, though the company’s long-term outlook remains strong.