SLB and Azule Energy Expand Enterprise Digital Platform to Strengthen Energy Operations in Angola
Global technology company SLB (NYSE: SLB) has announced a new three-year agreement with Azule Energy to continue and expand the deployment of its enterprise digital platform across Azule’s upstream operations in Angola. The expanded collaboration reflects a broader industry shift toward large-scale digital integration aimed at improving operational efficiency, accelerating decision-making, and ensuring reliable energy delivery from complex oil and gas assets.
Under the agreement, Azule Energy will deepen the use of SLB’s Delfi digital platform, a cloud-based environment designed to integrate subsurface data, engineering workflows, and operational insights. The platform will support a wide range of functions, from reservoir analysis and well planning to operational coordination, helping the company manage its extensive asset portfolio with greater consistency and visibility.
Supporting a Major Energy Producer in Angola
Azule Energy is a joint venture created by bp and Eni and is currently the largest independent energy producer in Angola. The company operates a broad portfolio of offshore assets, many of which are mature fields that require sophisticated planning, advanced reservoir management, and efficient operational coordination to sustain production levels.
Managing such complex operations presents significant challenges. Mature offshore assets often involve intricate infrastructure networks, declining reservoirs, and strict operational timelines. Digital technologies that integrate data from multiple sources—such as subsurface modeling, drilling engineering, and production operations—can help operators optimize performance and extend the life of their fields.
The new agreement between SLB and Azule Energy builds on an existing partnership that began approximately two years ago. During that time, Azule’s reservoir engineering teams adopted the Delfi platform to support reservoir studies, geological modeling, and simulation activities. The platform enabled engineers and geoscientists to collaborate within a shared digital environment, streamlining workflows that previously relied on separate software systems and manual data transfers.
By expanding the deployment across a wider set of operational processes, the companies aim to create an enterprise-level digital ecosystem capable of connecting multiple disciplines—from subsurface evaluation to drilling and production planning.
Accelerating Digital Transformation in Energy Operations
Digital transformation has become a key strategic priority for oil and gas operators worldwide. As fields become more complex and the demand for reliable energy supply continues, companies are increasingly adopting integrated digital platforms to enhance operational visibility and reduce inefficiencies.
SLB’s enterprise platform provides a cloud-based framework where large volumes of subsurface and operational data can be consolidated, analyzed, and shared across different teams and locations. This unified environment helps eliminate data silos that often slow down decision-making in large organizations.
According to SLB, the expanded collaboration with Azule Energy will allow workflows to be connected more seamlessly across the company’s operational structure. Reservoir engineering insights, drilling plans, and production data can be integrated within a single digital ecosystem, enabling teams to identify opportunities, anticipate challenges, and respond to operational changes more quickly.
ND Maduemezia, president of Europe and Africa at SLB, emphasized the importance of reliable execution for operators managing large energy assets.
“Azule operates large, complex energy assets where execution reliability and consistency matter,” Maduemezia said. “This agreement expands the use of an enterprise digital platform that connects workflows and data, strengthening and accelerating decision-making and improving execution predictability in support of reliable energy delivery in Angola.”
Local Support Through the Luanda Performance Center
A key component of the agreement is the local delivery and support structure provided through the SLB Luanda Performance Center in Angola’s capital city, Luanda. The facility acts as a regional hub for digital operations, helping deploy, monitor, and optimize digital solutions for operators working in Angola.
By leveraging local expertise and infrastructure, SLB aims to ensure that digital technologies can be integrated effectively within Azule’s day-to-day operations. The performance center also allows teams to maintain close coordination with field operations while providing technical support and continuous improvements to digital workflows.
Local deployment is particularly important for offshore operators in Angola, where complex logistics and operational constraints require rapid response capabilities. Having a dedicated performance center in the region helps ensure that digital solutions remain aligned with operational needs and evolving field conditions.
Integrating Reservoir and Operational Workflows
The expanded use of the Delfi platform will initially focus on strengthening key workflows within Azule’s reservoir management and planning activities. Reservoir studies, geological modeling, and simulation will continue to be core components of the platform’s use.
Over time, however, the system is expected to connect these subsurface workflows with broader operational data environments, creating a comprehensive digital ecosystem that spans multiple disciplines.
For example, insights generated during reservoir simulations can be integrated directly into well planning and drilling operations. This enables engineering teams to align drilling strategies with subsurface realities, improving accuracy and reducing uncertainties.
The integration also allows planners to track performance metrics and operational data more effectively, helping teams evaluate whether field activities are meeting production targets and efficiency benchmarks.
Automation and Efficiency Gains
Early deployments of the integrated digital platform have already demonstrated measurable operational benefits. One of the most notable improvements has been in well planning processes supported by DrillPlan, SLB’s coherent well planning and engineering solution.
Traditionally, well planning involves multiple departments working sequentially with separate tools and datasets. Engineers must coordinate geological models, drilling parameters, safety considerations, and equipment requirements, often requiring days of manual analysis and cross-team communication.
By integrating these workflows within a single digital platform, DrillPlan enables teams to automate many aspects of the planning process. As a result, planning cycles that previously required several days can now be completed within hours.
The system also reduces manual coordination between teams, allowing engineers to focus more on analysis and optimization rather than administrative tasks. Increased automation ensures that data is updated in real time and shared consistently across departments.
Preparing for AI-Enabled Energy Operations
Another important aspect of the agreement is the ability for Azule Energy to adopt emerging digital and artificial intelligence technologies as they become available.
Modern digital platforms such as Delfi are designed to evolve continuously, integrating new capabilities such as predictive analytics, machine learning, and automated decision support tools. These technologies can analyze large datasets to identify patterns and trends that might otherwise remain hidden.
For oil and gas operators, AI-enabled analytics can help optimize drilling programs, predict equipment failures, improve reservoir management, and enhance overall operational efficiency.
By expanding the enterprise digital platform today, Azule Energy is positioning itself to adopt these next-generation capabilities more rapidly in the future.
Strengthening Operational Consistency
Beyond efficiency gains, the digital transformation initiative also focuses on maintaining operational consistency across Azule’s large portfolio of assets. Mature offshore operations require strict discipline and standardized procedures to ensure safe and reliable performance.
An enterprise digital platform helps enforce consistent workflows and data standards across different teams and facilities. This standardization reduces the risk of operational discrepancies and helps ensure that decisions are based on the most accurate and up-to-date information available.
For operators like Azule Energy, which manages numerous offshore projects simultaneously, maintaining this level of coordination is essential for sustaining production and optimizing long-term field performance.
Supporting Reliable Energy Delivery
Angola remains one of Africa’s most significant oil-producing nations, and reliable energy production from its offshore fields plays a critical role in both national economic development and global energy supply.
Digital technologies are increasingly seen as a key enabler for sustaining production from mature fields while improving operational efficiency. By integrating advanced digital platforms with existing infrastructure, operators can maximize the value of their assets while minimizing operational risks.
The expanded partnership between SLB and Azule Energy demonstrates how technology providers and energy companies are collaborating to modernize upstream operations and enhance energy reliability.
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