Petronas Digital, the digital arm of Petronas, a Malaysian global energy group with a presence in over 100 countries, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Microsoft and Cegal, a global tech company specializing in energy and security, to accelerate digital innovation for the upstream value chain.
Upstream, broadly, refers to searching for and recovering oil and gas. Downstream usually refers to refining and processing of oil and gas.
The collaboration will see the construction of a Microsoft Azure High-Performance Computing (HPC) AI infrastructure platform to support and scale a wide array of applications to optimise Petronas Upstream’s operational efficiency, including advanced artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, energy transition and decarbonisation use cases.
The agreement was formalised in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Petronas Digital Chief Executive Officer Phuah Aik Chong, Microsoft Malaysia Managing Director K Raman, and Cegal Chief Executive Officer Dagfinn Ringås.
The effort is built upon Petronas existing collaboration with Microsoft and Cegal, which the partners say, advances exploration activities with better cloud agility, automation, and data lifecycle management.
The proposed construction of this Azure HPC platform is also poised to support other partners in Malaysia’s energy sector, including production agreement contractors (PACs), to achieve their business objectives.
K Raman explains, “Building upon our existing HPC engagement, this new collaboration will enable key technological advancements – delivering potential for growth and efficiency – both within the Petronas Upstream business unit and for the overall energy sector.”
This announcement, say the partners, underscores the support of Petronas for Microsoft's cloud services from their upcoming data centre region, to be established in Malaysia to enable greater innovation, enhanced agility, and cost optimisation.