Offshore Technology

Daily Newsletter

11 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

Azule Energy selects Palantir to digitise upstream operations

Palantir will deploy its Palantir Foundry solution across Azule Energy's operations to aid petroleum engineers, process engineers, flow assurance engineers, and others.

Angolan oil and gas company Azule Energy has selected software company Palantir Technologies to digitise and optimise operations.

Under the partnership, Palantir will deploy its Palantir Foundry solution across Azule Energy's upstream production operations to aid petroleum engineers, process engineers, flow assurance engineers, and others.

Azule Energy's current daily oil output of 200,000 barrels (bopd) will be managed by Palantir’s solution, which will also support the company's expansion to 250,000bopd.

Furthermore, the solution will help Azule Energy expand its upstream ontology by connecting data, including sensor data, from wells, pipelines, compressors, and other equipment, Palantir said.

Palantir global head of energy Matt Babin said: "We are excited to work with Azule Energy and expand our presence in an industry we've worked and operated in for more than a decade.

"Palantir Foundry will serve as the digital foundation for Azule Energy's upstream production business, helping them manage and grow their production safely and optimally."

Azule Energy is a 50/50 independent joint venture partnership between oil and gas giants bp and Eni.

Recently Azule Energy awarded two contracts for the Ndungu project off the coast of Angola.

The first contract was awarded to France’s TechnipFMC for the supply of flexible pipes and the second contract, which is for subsea umbilicals, was awarded to Norwegian company Aker Solutions.

The Ndungu field is part of Azule Energy’s Agogo Integrated West Hub project in Block 15/06 offshore Angola.

ESG 2.0 marks a shift towards stricter environmental rules

ESG is moving into a different era, which we call ESG 2.0. While ESG 1.0 was driven by voluntary corporate action, spurred by pressure from activist consumers and investors, ESG 2.0 is being driven by a new wave of government policies. The EU has taken the regulatory lead, with rules introduced or in the pipeline that will price emissions, regulate the use of the terms ‘ESG’ and ‘sustainability’ in marketing materials, and make ESG reporting mandatory. The US has taken a different approach, favoring less regulation and more financial support in the form of tax breaks for clean industry (renewables plus nuclear and hydrogen). China is planning to expand its emissions trading system to more sectors, decarbonize its heavy industry, and ramp up its use of renewables. The new policy direction is mainly motivated by the ambition to hit net zero emissions targets. But on top of this, governments are now competing for clean industry and trying to challenge China’s leadership on the production of the world’s green technologies such as solar panels and batteries, as well as the production and refinement of materials needed for energy transition such as lithium. These driving forces are leading to policy that will impact every sector, not just heavy industry, and will keep ESG near the top of the regulatory agenda over the longer term.