At the THRIVE Energy Conference, CEO Olivier Le Peuch outlines how advances in digital and AI are driving performance, efficiency and value creation

HOUSTON — As the world works to balance rising energy demand with the imperatives of security and affordability, performance has become the energy industry’s defining metric. At SLB, that performance is being driven by digital innovation, artificial intelligence and a deeper emphasis on production and recovery solutions.

Speaking with Arun Jayaram of J.P. Morgan at the THRIVE Energy Conference, Olivier Le Peuch, chief executive officer of SLB, outlined how the company is deploying technology to help its customers improve productivity, unlock new resources and transform their operations.

AI Embedded Across Operations

Le Peuch emphasized that artificial intelligence at SLB has evolved from features that enrich applications to foundation models with deep domain content that can be used by agents that reason, plan, act and create a feedback loop to enable autonomous operations.

“AI is a catalyst to accelerate the digital transformation across our industry,” Le Peuch said. “We are here to help provide a toolbox of platforms, foundation models and agents that our customers use to transform the way they operate.”

The company’s Lumi™ data and AI platform and Tela™ agentic AI assistant combine energy-specific data management, physics-based modeling and advanced analytics to support faster, more reliable operational decisions. More than 150 AI-enabled applications are deployed across SLB technologies, supporting drilling risk prediction, predictive maintenance and production optimization.

Diverging Regional Dynamics

Le Peuch described a global market marked by regional priorities.

International activity remains strong as countries continue to advance long-term development programs and national capacity expansion strategies tied to energy security and structural supply needs. This is supporting record investment levels in many countries across the Middle East, as well as a future activity rebound in deep water led by gas in Asia and oil across the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, in North America, operators remain focused on maximizing recovery and improving capital efficiency as unconventional reservoirs mature. SLB has expanded its production and recovery capabilities by integrating subsurface expertise with artificial lift, production chemicals, intervention and digital technologies, further strengthened through the addition of ChampionX.

“With ChampionX, we are evolving our portfolio to impact the production lifecycle as much as we have impacted exploration and development throughout our history,” Le Peuch said. “This is an area where we see the opportunity for our industry to maximize their assets through technology, integration and digital.”

Opportunities for Adjacent Growth

Beyond traditional oilfield services, SLB is expanding into areas that build on its engineering and integration capabilities.

Its Data Center Solutions business is scaling to meet demand for modular server and cooling infrastructure supporting hyperscale data centers. The company is also advancing carbon capture and storage and geothermal projects, applying subsurface expertise to emerging energy systems.

“Innovation has always been in our DNA,” Le Peuch said. “As we celebrate 100 years of SLB, we will continue to leverage capability and adjacency to step into new horizons of growth, including data centers, carbon capture and storage, geothermal and critical minerals.

Across regions and business lines, SLB’s approach reflects a broader industry shift toward defining performance through efficiency and value creation. In that environment, digital, AI and production and recovery solutions are becoming foundational to how energy is delivered.