SLB and SBM Offshore Forge Exclusive Digital Alliance to Boost FPSO Uptime and Cut TCO

SLB and SBM Offshore Form Exclusive Digital Alliance to Optimize FPSO Performance

SLB and SBM Offshore have created an exclusive digital alliance focused on improving offshore production performance. The collaboration combines SLB's digital and domain expertise across subsurface, subsea, surface production, and recovery with SBM Offshore's digital capabilities and full FPSO lifecycle know-how.

The companies will build an AI-driven digital ecosystem to strengthen FPSO digital asset management. The goal is straightforward: improve uptime and reduce total cost of ownership for offshore operators.

"This exclusive alliance with SBM Offshore marks a pivotal moment in offshore assets production and recovery," said Rakesh Jaggi, President, Digital & Integration, SLB. "By integrating decades of operational data and domain expertise through SLB's scalable digital platform, we're not only unlocking actionable insights - we are optimizing the FPSO value chain to enhance asset performance. Together, we are committed to delivering measurable value and operational excellence to our customers."

What this means for Operations

• Higher uptime through early anomaly detection and condition-based maintenance.
• Fewer unplanned shutdowns and faster mean time to resolution across subsea and topsides.
• Lower total cost of ownership via optimized maintenance schedules, spares planning, and energy efficiency.
• Standardized workflows that connect operations, maintenance, and engineering in one data context.
• Improved throughput and production stability with cross-domain insights.
• Better compliance and assurance with auditable, contextualized data trails.

How the ecosystem works

The digital ecosystem integrates SBM Offshore's operational workflows, data, and lifecycle expertise with SLB's digital technologies, including OptiSite™ solutions enabled by Cognite Data Fusion® as part of SLB's Lumi™ data and AI platform.

With real-time, contextualized insights across subsea wells, risers, flowlines, and topside systems, operators can identify and resolve issues before they escalate. By bringing intelligence across domains into a unified environment, decisions get faster and execution becomes more predictable throughout the asset lifecycle.

Learn more about the platforms involved: SLB Lumi and Cognite Data Fusion.

"This strategic alliance with SLB is a natural evolution of our digital strategy and mirrors our ambition to digitalize the FPSO operations," said Olivier Icyk, chief business officer, SBM Offshore. "Together with SLB, we combine complementary industry-leading expertise, experience, data driven work processes and proven services and technologies which will enhance further full field optimization, thanks to this unique vertical integration from reservoir to FPSO."

Practical actions for Operations leaders

• Audit data readiness: sensor coverage, data quality, historian access, subsea telemetry, and topside systems.
• Map integration points: subsea controls, DCS/SCADA, CMMS, PI/OT data, and engineering systems into a common model.
• Define KPIs: uptime, MTBF/MTTR, deferral reduction, maintenance backlog, energy intensity, and TCO.
• Prioritize critical failure modes and high-deferral equipment for early pilots.
• Run a controlled pilot on one FPSO or system, then scale with clear change management and SOP updates.
• Establish governance: data ownership, cyber/OT security, access controls, and audit requirements.
• Upskill teams on AI-assisted operations and reliability engineering workflows.

What to watch next

As the alliance matures, expect deeper integration across operations, maintenance, and engineering with proactive issue detection and faster decision cycles. The focus is measurable performance: higher uptime, lower OPEX, and more predictable production outcomes.

If building AI fluency across your operations teams is a priority, explore focused training options: AI Courses by Job.