Tanya Kontsedal, Peder Aursand and Kjetil Westeng accepted the award on behalf of Aker BP. Photo: Ronny Setså
The winner of the Exploration Innovation Prize is Aker BP and their development of in-house machine learning models also referred to as the Exploration Robot.
The presentation, given by Peder Aursand, Value Stream Manager and Data Scientist in Aker BP at the NCS Exploration conference in Oslo, demonstrated that the company has been able to close the gap between the research and development of machine learning models, and putting them to daily use within the organization.
They have not only developed workable machine learning models that can assist the geologists and geophysicists in reconstructing missing well logs, performing lithology predictions, doing shale volume calculations, getting a map view of potentially missed pay intervals, or getting an unbiased assessment of log quality with fewer resources than traditionally used but also made sure that the new tools are actually being used.
Aker BP has empowered cultural and structural change within their organization, and the jury believes that this is likely more important than the machine learning models themselves. Aker BP has made a digital transformation and facilitated a future-facing exploration department.
