Offshore staff
HOUSTON – BP Ventures is providing $5 million in finance to Belmont Technology to support the major’s artificial intelligence (AI) and digital capabilities in its Upstream business.
The Houston-based technology start-up has developed a cloud-based geoscience platform that employs AI. The platform’s capabilities include specially-designed ‘knowledge-graphs,’ withBP supplying the platform geology, geophysics, reservoir and historic project data.
This information is intuitively linked together, identifying new connections and workflows, creating a knowledge-graph of the company’s subsurface assets. BP engineers can ask the knowledge-graph questions in natural language, with the technology using AI neural networks to interpret the results and conduct fast simulations.
According to BP, the goal is to accelerate the project lifecycle process, from exploration through reservoir modeling, via a 90% reduction in the time taken for data compilation, interpretation, and simulation.
David Eyton, the company’s head of technology, said: “the AI-based platform, nicknamed Sandy, would be able to field questions such as ‘What factors control production in the Chirag field? [in the Caspian Sea].’
“Sandy will then interpret our data, including mapping out many more scenarios than are currently constructed, helping us make faster, better-informed upstream decisions.
The investment will allow Belmont to grow its workforce, extend Sandy’s capabilities and accelerate deployment of the product.
BP’s previous deals in cognitive computing include $20 million in Series B funding to AI companyBeyond Limits to help transfer AI technology previously used in deep space exploration to offshore exploration, accelerating operational insight and process automation across operations.
Belmont’s knowledge-graphs can also be interrogated by Beyond Limits’ technology for new insights, BP added.
01/30/2019
