BP

How they deploy

Deployment model

BP runs AI from a central technology function with delivery in the businesses. The EVP Technology, Emeka Emembolu, leads digital, safety, security and science, and the technology team builds shared data platforms and tools such as the Wells Assistant; under the reorganization effective Jul 1, 2026 the Technology function also houses BP's solar and offshore wind businesses and is reported in Other Businesses & Corporate. Business units build and pilot their own tools on the shared platforms: the Gulf of America region deployed PlantPulse (Sep 2026), and bpx energy, BP's US onshore business, designs AI programs with the field staff closest to the work (Jan 2026). BP also runs a Digital Hub in Pune, India, opened in 2021, and bp Technical Solutions India, planned at more than 400 staff by the end of 2024.

Model providers

BP has named only one model vendor for general use: Microsoft, whose Copilot for Microsoft 365 BP adopted as a launch partner in Nov 2023 with access planned for a substantial part of its global workforce from early 2024. Emeka Emembolu said in Oct 2025 that teams also use generative AI inside Palantir Foundry, where a Sep 2024 five-year deal added Palantir's AIP software to bring large language models into BP's decisions, and BP's Feb 2025 capital markets materials list equipment reliability analytics on Palantir's AI engine among the technologies under development. BP built the Wells Assistant, which it compares to Copilot or ChatGPT for wells data and told Rigzone in Jul 2025 was developed with frontier large language models, and the PlantPulse generative AI assistant, but has not named the models behind either; Murray Auchincloss said in Nov 2025 that drilling teams worked with large language models on kick detection. BP's maintenance teams use Databricks AI/BI Genie conversational agents (Jun 2026).

Data and infrastructure

BP calls itself cloud first, with more than 95% of its data in the cloud (Oct 2025). BP began moving its two European mega data centers and about 900 key applications to AWS in Dec 2019, with more than 60% of those workloads migrated a year later, and named Microsoft Azure as a cloud for its infrastructure in a Sep 2020 partnership. A BP session at Databricks' Jun 2026 summit said upstream data runs on Azure and retail on AWS, with Databricks SQL as the warehouse across both clouds and Unity Catalog for governance. BP's Center for High-Performance Computing in Houston runs seismic imaging, reservoir engineering and well planning; Emeka Emembolu said in Aug 2025 that BP had quadrupled its capacity with NVIDIA for 5 to 10 times faster processing, BP still described the quadrupling as under way in Jan 2026, and Penguin Solutions said in Jul 2026 that it had built a GPU platform for the center on NVIDIA HGX B200 systems, with a 2026 expansion that nearly doubles its seismic imaging capacity. bpx energy keeps its operational, engineering and financial data in a single cloud-based data lake (Jan 2026).

Leadership

AI, data and platform leaders

AI org map

Central technology function builds data platforms and AI tools; regions and bpx energy build and pilot their own

BP's AI program is owned by Emeka Emembolu, who became EVP Technology on Jun 1, 2024, succeeding Leigh-Ann Russell, then EVP of innovation & engineering, and sits on the leadership team under chief executive Meg O'Neill. From Jul 1, 2026 BP is organized into two segments, Upstream under Gordon Birrell and Downstream under interim EVP Richard Harding, with Supply, Trading & Shipping under Sam Skerry across both and the Technology function reported in Other Businesses & Corporate. Regions such as the Gulf of America and the US onshore business bpx energy run their own technology teams that build and pilot AI tools.

BP's AI work sits in two places: the central technology function under EVP Technology Emeka Emembolu, which builds shared data platforms and tools such as the Wells Assistant, and technical teams in the businesses, such as the Gulf of America region and bpx energy, that build and pilot tools for their own operations. BP has not published how many data scientists or AI engineers it employs. BP opened a Digital Hub in Pune in 2021 with an initial headcount of up to 100 digital engineering, data, security and design specialists, and planned more than 400 staff at bp Technical Solutions India in Pune by the end of 2024.

Use cases

BP has named more than a dozen AI tools in production or pilot across wells, production optimization, maintenance, seismic imaging, supply chain and retail, but has published no total count of use cases. BP has reported a business return credited to AI for one of them, Optimization Genie, which added about 2,000 barrels a day at the Atlantis hub; BP's figures for AI stock replenishment in UK stores and an AI agent at Aral stations in Germany are an inventory reduction and a trial result. For AI as a whole, BP shows about 4% more BP-operated production from 2022 to 2024 under AI and advanced analytics together, and has published no firm-level return credited to AI alone.

Adoption

BP spread AI in layers. Machine learning came first in exploration and drilling, where BP said in Jul 2019 that about 800 scientists and engineers were learning data science and that a data science sandbox ran on its Houston supercomputer. BP moved most of its data to AWS and Azure from 2019, joined the Copilot for Microsoft 365 launch in Nov 2023, and put in-house generative AI tools such as the Wells Assistant into production by 2025, when it had 700 users; BP said in Jul 2025 that its wells and subsurface AI assistants were available to more than 2,000 users. BP has published no company-wide count of AI users; Emeka Emembolu said in Oct 2025 that many teams use generative AI daily, and the Databricks maintenance agents had reached 400 users with about 9,000 planned in Jun 2026.

By the numbers

Economics & controls

Recent signals

1. Oct 30, 2026

   Meg O'Neill said on BP's third-quarter results that bpx energy field staff armed with data and AI tools have raised production uptime, while BP said structural cost reductions reached about $4 billion and that it will set out longer-term plans on Dec 15, 2026.

   3Q 2026 results presentation

2. Sep 29, 2026

   BP's Gulf of America region said it deployed PlantPulse, a generative AI maintenance assistant, and uses AI to search seismic volumes, plan wells and reuse spare parts.

   BP

3. Aug 4, 2026

   Meg O'Neill said BP's cost interventions had not delivered enough to the bottom line and that technology, simplification and organisational redesign would make BP more competitive, as Kate Thomson reported $3.5 billion of structural cost reductions.

   2Q 2026 results presentation

4. Jul 16, 2026

   BP said new tools, including AI, helped raise BP-operated production by about 2% a year over five years, around 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, and described its Optimization Genie and Well Startup Tool.

   BP

5. Jul 14, 2026

   Penguin Solutions said it had built a GPU platform for BP's Houston high-performance computing center on NVIDIA HGX B200 systems, designed for more than 80 times faster seismic imaging than BP's CPU systems and for future AI work.

   Penguin Solutions

6. Jun 16, 2026

   A BP data engineer told Databricks' Data + AI Summit that BP's Genie agents for maintenance data had reached 400 users, with about 9,000 planned.

   Databricks

7. Jun 9, 2026

   BP said it will run as two segments, Upstream and Downstream, from Jul 1, 2026, with solar and offshore wind moving into the Technology function.

   BP

8. Apr 1, 2026

   Meg O'Neill, formerly CEO of Woodside Energy, became BP's chief executive.

   BP

9. Mar 2026

   BP's 2025 Annual Report named generative and agentic AI an emerging systemic risk, listed responsible AI among its digital controls, and reported board deep dives on generative AI deployment.

   2025 Annual Report and Form 20-F

10. Feb 10, 2026

    Gordon Birrell described Wells Advisor, an AI system for well site leaders, and AI kick detection with a 90% success rate, while Kate Thomson said BP is looking hard at AI for cost reductions and productivity.

    4Q 2025 results call

11. Jan 27, 2026

    BP said bpx energy is piloting PLX, an agentic AI voice assistant for field technicians, and working with Palantir on an integrated operating system.

    BP

12. Jan 8, 2026

    BP said an AI stock replenishment system across 320 UK stores had cut inventory by about $5 million since May 2025 and that it is quadrupling its high-performance computing capacity.

    BP

13. Dec 17, 2025

    BP named Meg O'Neill chief executive from Apr 1, 2026, as Murray Auchincloss stepped down.

    BP

14. Nov 4, 2025

    Murray Auchincloss said BP's unified data platform with Palantir and Databricks would be in place around mid-2026 and credited AI fault prediction, with equipment investment, for nearly 97% upstream availability.

    3Q 2025 results call

Quick answers

How does BP deploy AI?

BP deploys AI mainly through tools its own teams build, such as Optimization Genie for oil and gas production, the Wells Assistant and the PlantPulse maintenance assistant, alongside Palantir's Foundry and AIP software and a unified data platform it is building with Databricks and Palantir; staff also use Microsoft Copilot. EVP Technology Emeka Emembolu owns digital and AI from BP's leadership team. BP credits one AI tool, Optimization Genie, with extra oil output, but publishes no AI budget, company-wide user count or firm-level AI return.

What does BP use AI for?

BP has named more than a dozen AI tools in production or pilot across wells, production optimization, maintenance, seismic imaging, supply chain and retail, but has published no total count of use cases. BP has reported a business return credited to AI for one of them, Optimization Genie, which added about 2,000 barrels a day at the Atlantis hub; BP's figures for AI stock replenishment in UK stores and an AI agent at Aral stations in Germany are an inventory reduction and a trial result. For AI as a whole, BP shows about 4% more BP-operated production from 2022 to 2024 under AI and advanced analytics together, and has published no firm-level return credited to AI alone.

Who leads AI at BP?

AI at BP is led by Emeka Emembolu (EVP, Technology). Ownership of AI on the org chart: Emeka Emembolu, EVP Technology, on the leadership team.

What AI platform does BP use?

BP builds its own AI tools, such as Optimization Genie, the Wells Assistant and PlantPulse, has used Palantir Foundry since 2014 and added Palantir's AIP in a five-year deal in Sep 2024, and set out in Aug 2025 to merge about 100,000 data pipelines into one platform with Databricks and Palantir by mid-2026.

Which AI models does BP use?

BP has not named the models behind its in-house tools; it said in Jul 2025 that the Wells Assistant uses frontier large language models, and employees use Copilot for Microsoft 365, where BP was a launch partner in Nov 2023, and generative AI inside Palantir Foundry (Oct 2025).

How many BP employees use AI?

BP has published no company-wide count of AI users; its wells and subsurface AI assistants were available to more than 2,000 users in Jul 2025, and Emeka Emembolu said in Oct 2025 that many BP teams use generative AI daily.

How far has AI spread at BP?

BP has reported one business return it credits to AI, which places it in Piloting: Optimization Genie, a BP-built production tool, added about 2,000 barrels a day at the Atlantis hub in the Gulf of America (Apr 2025). BP's other AI figures do not count as returns: lower inventory from AI stock replenishment in UK stores (Jan 2026) is working capital, and the sales lift at 21 Aral stations in Germany came from a trial (Nov 2025). BP has not reported a company-wide AI rollout with a user count: EVP Technology Emeka Emembolu, on the leadership team, owns AI and said in Oct 2025 that many teams use generative AI daily in Palantir Foundry or Microsoft Copilot, without giving a number, and the wells and subsurface assistants were open to more than 2,000 users in Jul 2025. BP falls short of Scaling because its only AI-credited return comes from one function and no firm-level figure is credited to AI alone: the about 4% production gain from 2022 to 2024 is credited to AI and advanced analytics together, and BP has not said how much of its $4 billion of structural cost reductions came from AI.

Open questions

• How many BP employees have access to Copilot for Microsoft 365 or other AI tools, and how many use them each week?
• Was BP's unified data platform with Databricks and Palantir completed by mid-2026 as Murray Auchincloss expected?
• What does BP spend on AI, on its technology function and on cloud computing?
• How much of BP's roughly $4 billion of structural cost reductions came from AI, as opposed to divestments, contractor exits and other digital work, and how much of the about 4% production gain shown for AI and advanced analytics from 2022 to 2024 does BP credit to AI itself?
• Which models power the Wells Assistant, Wells Advisor, PlantPulse and PLX, and where do they run?
• Is Wells Advisor, which Gordon Birrell described in Feb 2026, the same tool as the Wells Assistant BP described in 2025?
• What business return do BP's deployed tools with no published figures deliver, such as Advanced Anomaly Detection, kick detection, PlantPulse and the Databricks maintenance agents?
• Beyond about $5 million less inventory, what cost or sales return has AI stock replenishment delivered in BP's UK stores, and has the Aral stock agent moved from its 21-store trial into wider use with reported results?
• Does BP confirm Palantir's claim that Foundry helped it capture 30,000 barrels a day of additional production?
• Which kick detection figure is current: the about 98% Murray Auchincloss cited in Nov 2025 or the 90% success rate BP gave in Jan and Feb 2026?
• Who leads digital, data and AI below the EVP Technology, given that BP names no chief digital, data or AI officer, and does Harsha Tharkabhushanam still hold the global data science and AI role a speaker profile gives him?
• Will Meg O'Neill's Dec 15, 2026 strategy update set AI targets or change who owns AI at BP?

Sources