Transaction expands SLB's digital subsurface presence in U.S. unconventional workflows and supports its long-term AI-enabled platform strategy
SLB has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the geoscience and petroleum engineering software business portfolio of S&P Global Energy, a leading provider of subsurface software widely used by U.S. onshore and unconventional operators. The proposed acquisition represents a targeted expansion of SLB’s digital subsurface and planning portfolio, extending its presence in workflow-centric customer segments that are strategically important to long-term digital growth, while remaining aligned with SLB’s disciplined approach to portfolio development.
The bigger picture
According to the International Energy Agency’s Oil 2025 outlook, unconventional resources are expected to supply a growing share of global liquids through 2030, with short-cycle assets in the United States remaining the largest contributor to non-OPEC production growth this decade. The concentration of shale development in U.S. land — characterized by high well density, rapid drilling cycles, and continuous optimization — has made it the world’s most data-intensive geoscience and petroleum engineering market, where software-driven subsurface and planning workflows are widely used in daily operations.
How this fits
'Unconventional markets demand speed, scale and efficiency,' said Olivier Le Peuch, Chief Executive Officer, SLB. 'This software portfolio is widely used by U.S. land operators in their daily workflows. By integrating these capabilities with our industrial-scale digital platforms and AI technologies, we can serve customers across the full spectrum of subsurface and planning needs.'
The S&P Global Energy software is expected to complement SLB’s existing digital subsurface portfolio by addressing planning, interpretation, and analytics workflows that are complementary and sit adjacent to SLB’s advanced modeling solutions. S&P Global Energy’s applications are utilized in customers’ day-to-day technical work and demonstrate strong adoption across U.S. land operators, supported by long-tenured usage and a high degree of workflow continuity.
Following the transaction, SLB intends to progressively integrate S&P Global Energy’s technology stack with its digital platforms, taking a deliberate approach that preserves existing customer workflows while complementing them with agentic AI capabilities. This approach is designed to enhance scalability, performance, and interoperability, while maintaining the practical, workflow-centric solutions that underpin S&P Global Energy’s strong customer adoption.
Beyond the deal
In parallel, the parties have entered an agreement to collaborate on building new AI models in which SLB will use its Lumi™ platform and Tela™ agentic AI framework to unlock value from S&P Global Energy’s upstream data. The combination of S&P's upstream data and SLB's domain expertise will help develop advanced domain foundation models, bringing significant value for the industry.
The transaction is anticipated to close in the second half of 2026 or early 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Source: SLB
