How TotalEnergies and Mistral AI are using a $114 million joint lab to transform subsurface exploration and reservoir engineering
TotalEnergies and French artificial intelligence company Mistral have announced a three-year partnership backed by an investment of more than $114 million to develop advanced AI models for oil and gas exploration, reservoir engineering and subsurface analysis.
The joint programme will focus on creating a new generation of frontier AI models designed to help TotalEnergies’ geosciences experts interpret complex data, evaluate exploration opportunities and improve the development of existing oil and gas reservoirs.
The collaboration will combine nearly a century of TotalEnergies’ geoscience expertise and reservoir engineering knowledge with Mistral’s AI capabilities. The companies aim to use nearly 10 petaflops of data to develop models capable of processing large volumes of subsurface information and generating multiple scenarios for exploration and reservoir development.
As part of the agreement, TotalEnergies and Mistral will establish a joint scientific laboratory. The facility will bring together TotalEnergies’ subsurface teams and Mistral’s scientific and technological experts to develop AI solutions tailored to the energy company’s operational needs.
The initiative will also support TotalEnergies’ efforts to strengthen its proprietary AI capabilities within a European digital ecosystem. By working with Mistral, the company aims to use its strategic subsurface data while developing customized AI tools that support its business operations and protect its intellectual property.
“Exploration and reservoir engineering are among the areas where artificial intelligence can create the greatest value for our activities. By combining a century of geoscience data, the expertise of our teams and Mistral’s capabilities, we aim to develop a new generation of tools capable of supporting our experts in analyzing the most complex data and in their decision-making. This partnership also illustrates our commitment to contributing to the development of a high-performing European digital ecosystem, supporting our competitiveness.” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies.
Mistral CEO and co-founder Arthur Mensch said the partnership would expand the companies’ existing collaboration while demonstrating the potential of AI models in complex industrial and scientific applications.
“We are delighted to take our collaboration with TotalEnergies to the next level. This project demonstrates the ability of our models to support complex industrial processes and adapt to the most demanding scientific and energy challenges. It also highlights the strength of Europe’s industrial ecosystem and the importance for large enterprises of adopting state-of-the-art, customizable AI solutions that protect and respect their intellectual property,” said Mensch.
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