Demonstrated the Future of Oil and Gas Operations for the Minister of Digitalisation

Last week, Minister of Digitalisation Karianne Tung visited Aker BP in Stavanger to see how the future of oil and gas operations is taking shape. The programme included a tour of the integrated operations centre for Yggdrasil. When production from Yggdrasil is operated from the centre in 2027, Aker BP will set a completely new standard for offshore operations.

Yggdrasil is being developed with low-manned and unmanned platforms, resulting in few people offshore and low activity levels. The entire area will be remotely operated from the integrated operations centre and control room in Stavanger. This is made possible through new technology and a unique digital ecosystem.

“From this control room, we can start up, operate and bring the entire processing facility to a safe state without the need for manual offshore operations,” said Kristian Bay Næss, Operations Director for Yggdrasil, during the tour.

The Minister was shown how a small, dynamic team will at all times be present in the integrated operations centre. They will work side by side with control room technicians to proactively optimise production, facility regularity, and ensure safe and efficient operations. All activities will be planned onshore.

During the visit, Bay Næss explained how Yggdrasil is built on data. Thousands of sensors will provide continuous insight into the condition of the facilities. Data is collected and structured through the industrial data platform Cognite Data Fusion (CDF) and visualised using modern tools. Aker BP will also share data seamlessly with strategic suppliers – both human experts and AI agents.

“Our long-term ambition is a high degree of autonomous operations at Yggdrasil. We already have the building blocks for artificial intelligence in place. AI agents will be in use from day one within condition-based maintenance and planning, and we will scale to more parts of the operation as solutions mature. AI will undoubtedly create major opportunities for even more efficient operations in the future,” he said.

The visit reflects Aker BP’s position as a leading digital energy company. In percentage terms, Aker BP has more Copilot users than Microsoft itself – a clear sign that AI is not a side project, but integrated into the way the company works.

The Norwegian continental shelf is mature. To make the remaining resources commercial, a genuine productivity revolution is required. Aker BP believes artificial intelligence is a crucial part of the solution.

For more than ten years, the company has built a real-time data foundation that connects the entire value chain. This is the foundation that now makes it possible to bring AI into the very core of exploration, drilling, operations, maintenance and decision-making.

For Aker BP, the focus is no longer on digitising existing processes, but on building entirely new ways of working – where people, technology and AI agents work together.