Cegal, PETRONAS, and Microsoft have entered into a collaboration to leverage the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence and High-Performance Computing on Microsoft Azure. The goal is innovation, efficiency, and carbon reduction within the upstream value chain.
The Norwegian tech-company Cegal, PETRONAS Digital Sdn Bhd (PDSB), the digital arm of Malaysian energy giant PETRONAS, and Microsoft have entered into a strategic collaboration to accelerate digital innovation for the upstream value chain.
The collaboration will see the construction of Microsoft Azure High-Performance Computing (HPC), AI Infrastructure platform to support and scale a wide array of applications that would optimize PETRONAS upstream’s operational efficiency, including advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, energy transition, and decarbonisation use cases.
Dagfinn Ringaas, CEO at Cegal, said: “Moving High-Performance Computing workloads to the cloud with a managed service has been a game-changer deal for us in Asia and a big vote of confidence from one of the largest and most professional energy companies in the world. It also shows that we are succeeding in our ambition to build a leading global tech company for the energy sector.”
The partnership is leveraging on the domain expertise of PETRONAS, Cegal’s competence in cloud platforms, data management, and business application in the energy sector, and the advanced capabilities of Microsoft Azure’s HPC platform and AI infrastructure solution.
Greater innovation and cost optimisation
Aadrin Azly, VP of Group Technology and Commercialisation at PETRONAS, added: “This collaboration has the potential to unlock new possibilities and drive innovation in the upstream value chain. HPC and AI capabilities can further optimise the delivery of our energy offerings and innovate operations within the wider energy industry.”
The effort is built upon PETRONAS’ existing collaboration with Cegal and Microsoft, which advances exploration activities with better cloud agility, automation, and data lifecycle management.
The proposed construction of this HPC platform is also poised to support other partners in Malaysia’s energy sector, including production agreement contractors, to achieve their business objectives.
K Raman, Microsoft Malaysia Managing Director, in this context, said: “As a technology partner to PETRONAS, we are committed to help accelerate their innovation journey with Microsoft’s artificial intelligence and Microsoft Azure High-Performance Computing solutions.”
This announcement underscores PETRONAS’ support towards Microsoft’s cloud services from the data center region, to be established in Malaysia to enable more innovation, enhanced agility, and cost optimization.
The strategic partnership was formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by K Raman, Microsoft Malaysia Managing Director, PETRONAS Digital Chief Executive Officer Phuah Aik Chong, and Cegal CEO Dagfinn Ringaas during the Energy Asia 2023 Conference.
