ExxonMobil to use Microsoft technologies including Azure and Dynamics 365 for its Permian Basin operations

Kareem Anderson

ExxonMobil is upping its cloud technology game with a new partnership that’s being steward by none other than Microsoft itself.

As of today, February 22, 2019, Microsoft and ExxonMobil are working together to optimize the oil company’s Permain Bain operations through an amalgamation of Microsoft Azure, Machine Learning and Internet of Things solutions.

ExxonMobil’s partnership with Microsoft includes an integrated cloud environment that securely and reliably collects real-time data from oil field assets spanning hundreds of miles. The data will enable ExxonMobil to make faster and better decisions on drilling optimization, well completions and prioritization of personnel deployment. Importantly, leak detection and repair response times could be further reduced with enhanced access to emissions data, strengthening XTO’s voluntary actions to manage methane emissions.

ExxonMobil’s Permain Bain operations represents the a large sedimentary basin in US southwest region as well as the largest-ever oil and gas acreage to deploy the use of cloud technology.

Covering over 86,000 square miles, ExxonMobil is projecting that its use Microsoft cloud technologies to optimize the operations could be beneficial to the company to the production tune of 50,000 oil-equivalent barrels a day that could translate into billions in net cash flow by 2025.

More specifically, ExxonMobil plan to make use of Azure Data Lake for rapid incorporation of third-party solutions for production at scale as well as Microsoft’s intelligent business applications to enable end-to-end insights and opportunities on best efficiencies across the Permian operations.

The details regarding the length of the collaboration or the price of the contract are unknown, but in the US, ExxonMobile is a rather big fish that Microsoft has seemingly managed to snare from the grips of Amazon and its behemoth AWS competitor.