Per Olav explains that traditionally petroleum technology departments have been very plan driven and if something didn’t go according to the plan, it was often put down as bad planning. But recently, they have started acknowledging that some tasks are iterative and continuous, and may require a different approach.

Since development started on Johan Sverdrup the team’s ability to quickly adapt to challenges has been crucial. Naturally, some things require solid planning but it’s not the case for all the work they do.

“There’s a mismatch between how much we rely on plans and reality. Working on Johan Sverdrup has shown that we have to be able to adapt and change as we go,” Per Olav explains.

Agile philosophies focus on optimizing for value, not resource utilization or following a plan, as well as preparing to tackling change instead of fighting it. 

If you want to adapt an agile mindset, who better to spar with than Software Innovation? Now, the subsurface team have adapted kanban boards, sprints, MVP’s and other agile frameworks to their workday. They’re a tech-curious team and Lindvar tells us that both he and Janniche were welcomed with open arms into the subsurface world.  

Software + subsurface = sweet music

In the beginning there weren’t any clearly defined projects to work on and it was more a matter of getting to know the team and the subsurface world.

“Getting to know the subsurface domain and how they work has been and still is very interesting. It helps us to create an even better solution for them when we’re developing,” Lindvar says.

“Quite often IT comes into the process at a late stage, but the earlier we’re a part of the conversation the more we can learn, influence and help improve the end result,” he adds.

Espen explains that working together with the core business and geophysicists like Max has been an eye-opener.

Suggesting ideas or asking questions feels much more natural to do when the person who can answer it is sitting right next to you.

“You have to be close to each other to have these informal discussions around questions or ideas. It doesn’t take much of a distance before you lose track of the great question or idea you might have had,” Espen says.

We can all agree that both technology and data are a defining factor in taking us further. But helping a digital culture grow is just as important and goes far beyond new tech or tools.

“We’re taking a serious look at not just how we work, but how we think. Adapting an agile philosophy is an example of that,” Per Olav says.

Having software developers embedded into their team on equal terms brings new skills, capabilities mindsets and ideas.

“Working together on equal terms plays an important role in this. This kind of collaboration is essential in adopting a digital mindset and culture. We’re exchanging a lot of learning across our “silos” and questioning a lot of established truths,” Per Olav explains.

One question remains: have they been able to revolutionize the way a subsurface team works?

The Johan Sverdrup team have set an ambitious target of recovering 70% of the oil within the reservoir. While the reservoir is world-class, but that alone won't bring them to 70% recovery.

“Digitalization is a key component in that ambition and the close collaboration with SI is a key component in digitalization,” Henriette says.

But in order to get across the finish line it’s not all about numbers and tech: