AI is essential to achieving Equinor’s ambition to capture Norway’s continental shelf by 2035, contributing to energy security and continued value creation.
Hege Skryseth, Executive Vice President, Technology, Digital and Innovation, Equinor
Photo: Ole Jorgen Bratland / ©Equinor
“AI is a core part of our operations. Going forward, AI will become even more important to solving industrial tasks safely, faster, more profitably, and at scale. With AI, we can analyze seismic data 10 times faster, plan well and field development in new and better ways, and operate facilities more efficiently. Industrial processes generate vast amounts of data, and AI can be used to “create” knowledge from this data. Although we are in the early stages of the AI revolution, it is already transformative and profitable. ” says Hege. Mr. Skryseth, Executive Vice President of Technology, Digital and Innovation at Equinor.
Equinor is currently using a variety of AI solutions and has identified over 100 new use cases.
Here are three valuable contributors that have been implemented:
- Over 700 rotating machines are monitored with 24,000 sensors across all facilities. This predicts failures and maintenance needs, known as predictive maintenance. It improves safety, provides more stable operation, and reduces the risk of sudden shutdowns that can lead to flaring and increased CO2.2 emissions. Since 2020, this alone has generated US$120 million in value.
- Well and field development planning using AI generates thousands of alternatives, allowing experts to focus on the best suggestions. Johan Sverdrup In Phase 3, AI discovered a solution no one had thought of before, saving the partnership $12 million.
- AI is also used as a tool to interpret more seismic data faster. This tool increases your interpretation ability by a factor of 10. With AI, we will be able to interpret more data, cover more square kilometers and strengthen our overall understanding of the region and the Norwegian continental shelf. Geological understanding is the key to new discoveries and is an important tool. In 2025, 700,000 square kilometers were interpreted using AI tools.
“Since 2020, we have realized more than $330 million in value with artificial intelligence in industrial processes, of which $130 million occurred in 2025. “We're using modern machine learning. Our employees can use AI tools like co-pilots, chatbots, and agent AI to solve tasks and work in new ways,” Scrises said.
Equinor aims to maintain production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf at 2020 levels until 2035, which would mean approximately 1.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
“We use AI to interpret more seismic data, plan and drill more wells, and operate safe and profitable facilities, while also using this technology to optimize energy consumption and reduce CO.2 emissions,” Scrises explains.
At the NHO annual general meeting* On January 7th, Skrieseth will speak at Equinor about AI, what Norway should focus on and how he believes AI agents will change the way we work.
* Næringslivets Hovedorganisasjon (in Norwegian)
