By Sumit Saha and Pooja Menon
June 17 (Reuters) – SLB said on Wednesday that it aims to nearly double its annual digital revenue to $2 billion by 2030, as it expects AI-driven adoption to lift the global digital market to as much as $50 billion by the end of the decade.
At its Digital Investor Day, the oilfield services provider also said it expects annual digital spending to grow by an additional $10 billion by 2030.
Outlining growth targets for SLB’s digital business, CFO Stephane Biguet said, “We see a path to approximately double our current adjusted EBITDA for digital to between $1.8 billion and $2 billion by 2030 with margins expanding to a range of 38% to 42% towards the end of the decade.”
Oilfield contractors including SLB are also pursuing growth by providing power equipment, turbines and data solutions to artificial intelligence data centers to tap into the AI infrastructure boom.
AUTOMATION AND AI
Energy companies like SLB are increasingly adopting digital technologies to manage growing volumes of geological, production and infrastructure data as they look to cut costs, improve reliability and reduce emissions.
SLB said it is widening digital adoption by expanding connected equipment and data-led services, with around 35% of its electrical submersible pumps currently connected and monitored, and a target to reach 60% by 2030.
It also aims to increase the use of digital add-ons in formation evaluation operations to 60% from roughly 14%, while boosting autonomous drilling to 25% from about 3% over the same period.
In March, SLB had said it would expand its partnership with Nvidia to develop AI infrastructure and models for the energy sector.
(Reporting by Sumit Saha and Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)