This case study explores how Aker BP is deploying AI and automation at its Yggdrasil project in the North Sea, one of the world’s first AI-first, remotely operated oilfields. By combining electrification from shore with digital twins, autonomy enablers, and remote operations, the company aims to cut carbon intensity to a fraction of the industry average, offering a blueprint for low-carbon offshore production.
Decarbonising the barrel: How Aker BP is deploying AI and data to drive carbon efficiency
While the global energy sector grapples with the implications and opportunities of the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom, the oil and gas sector is looking at this revolutionary technology as an opportunity to advance decarbonisation while safeguarding profitability and market share.
There's a growing confidence within the industry that AI investments will not only deliver measurable competitive advantage over time but also generate solid returns on investment. Offshore operations in particular, which are traditionally emissions-heavy, stand to benefit significantly by leveraging automation and data-driven decision-making to improve carbon efficiency.
As part of this trend, Norwegian upstream operator Aker BP has been investing heavily in designing remote-first offshore operations. The company is deploying AI and data solutions to increase efficiency while decarbonising operations. It has partnered with multiple companies, including SLB, Cognite, Accenture, and Halliburton, for its Yggdrasil project in the Norwegian North Sea. Aker BP is the project’s operator, with Equinor and Orlen Upstream Norway as licence partners.
Project details
The Yggdrasil development is the largest ongoing project on Norway’s continental shelf and consists of the Hugin, Fulla and Munin license groups. Unlike traditional offshore fields, Yggdrasil is being designed as one of the industry’s first AI-first, remotely operated ecosystems.
The project aims to run its assets periodically unmanned, and eventually fully unmanned, all coordinated from an integrated operations centre in Stavanger.
SLB is providing solutions that enable advisory and insights on the field's combined multiphase and single-phase production and injection network.
“The platform we develop in partnership with SLB is a key step in realising our strategy to build the E&P company of the future and cement our position as a digital leader.” - Per Øyvind Seljebotn, SVP Exploration & Reservoir Development, Aker bp
The success of this project hinges on two levers electrification from shore, which will provide low-carbon power, and operational autonomy by reducing manning and logistics.
Together, these could drive Yggdrasil’s carbon intensity to about 1 kg CO₂ per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), a fraction of the industry average. Offshore producers have an average emissions intensity of approximately 17kg per boe, with the vast majority of operators falling in the 10-40 kg per boe range.
Production from the North Sea project is expected to begin in 2027.
Building an AI-first architecture
At Yggdrasil, the AI-first vision is underpinned by three layers:
- Data foundation: Aker BP has built a robust digital backbone through Cognite Data Fusion and Aize applications. Operational data is contextualised and embedded within a DNV-assured digital twin, enabling algorithms to be trusted in mission-critical scenarios.
- Autonomy enablers: The field will run on private 5G networks and edge computing, enabling real-time control of robotics, drones, and remote-operated cranes. Autonomous inspection drones, AI-assisted shutdown/start-up sequences, and automated well-cementing are already in trials.
- Remote operations: The Stavanger integrated operations centre will act as a “control tower” for Yggdrasil’s three platforms: Munin (fully unmanned), Hugin A (low manning), and a processing hub. From here, crews will orchestrate subsea systems, drilling, and maintenance campaigns.
Automation is already being demonstrated at scale. Aker BP and Halliburton have completed over 400 automated cementing jobs, improving precision and reducing errors. Drones are operating beyond visual line of sight on the Edvard Grieg platform, with expanded use expected at Yggdrasil. Besides, a private 5G/edge network enables AR-assisted maintenance and live-streamed inspections. DNV certification of Aker BP’s digital twin methodology has been secured, reinforcing trust among regulators and the workforce.
As electrification provides the baseline emissions reductions, autonomy acts as a multiplier. Each avoided helicopter trip to the remote site prevents around 0.5–1 tonne CO₂ emissions, while fewer vessel trips cut tens of tonnes of emissions. AI-enabled predictive maintenance further reduces unplanned downtime and rework-related carbon overheads.
In short, carbon efficiency lies not only in avoiding molecules of gas, but in eliminating entire modes of work.
The AI decarbonisation opportunity for oil and gas
AI is an emerging catalyst across the oil and gas value chain. According to The Energy Transition Equation report, autonomous offshore operations can cut over 300,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year per site (around 25%). The same report estimates up to US$30 million in annual efficiency savings, plus revenue gains of up to US$120,000 per site through improved uptime.
Reduction in CO₂ emission per year at sites that run autonomous offshore
Currently, 44% of upstream organisations use AI in exploration. Another 45% plan to do so within three years. In downstream operations, 41% apply AI in refining; another 52% expect to do so in three years.
Yggdrasil’s success as Norway’s AI-first oilfield may set the blueprint for the next generation of low-carbon E&P. For an industry under mounting pressure to decarbonise, Aker bp’s strategy signals that true efficiency gains will come not from incremental tweaks but from rethinking how fields are designed, operated, and manned.
At ADIPEC, companies including bp showcase similar AI-driven operational transformation across the value chain, from predictive maintenance to autonomous operations and grid intelligence, revolutionising energy system management and efficiency. The global platform doesn’t just bring together companies but also offers a fertile ground for dialogue and partnerships that are driving innovation in the energy sector.