Chevron Technical Center, a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc., has joined SLB's Arena subsurface collaboration as the second global operator, expanding the framework SLB and TotalEnergies established in 2024.

The expansion routes Chevron's investment, intellectual property and technical expertise into the program. TotalEnergies, the founding supermajor, remains embedded alongside the new entrant, with both operators placing subject matter experts inside SLB technology centers. SLB described the addition as a step toward open, scalable digital subsurface technologies.

What is Arena designed to deliver?

Arena targets scalable, open and extensible digital subsurface technologies built around two pressures identified in SLB's announcement: increasingly complex reservoirs, and the growing volumes of subsurface data those fields produce. The framework assigns operator engineers directly into SLB technology centers, compressing feedback loops between development teams and field operations.

"This collaboration brings SLB's digital and subsurface expertise together with operator knowledge to help develop technologies for reservoir engineering and geoscience," said Rakesh Jaggi, president of SLB's digital business. "Chevron adds valuable experience and perspectives that will help strengthen how we address complex subsurface workflows and field development decisions."

The model mirrors co-development arrangements used in earlier oilfield technology cycles but applies them explicitly to AI-enabled workflows in reservoir engineering and geoscience. SLB pointed to the approach as a means of delivering products shaped by operator priorities rather than vendor assumptions.

What does Chevron contribute?

Chevron brings industry-leading expertise in uncertainty analysis, optimization and field development planning to the joint roadmap, according to SLB. Jitendra Kikani, Chevron vice president of Subsurface, positioned the operator's contribution as a foundation for digital decision-making across the upstream portfolio.

"Chevron is working to advance digital capabilities to unlock greater value from our subsurface resources," Kikani said. "Through Arena, we are combining our world-class expertise in uncertainty analysis with digital technologies and AI-enabled workflows to improve decision quality, accelerate insights, and enhance operational efficiency."

The Kikani statement linked uncertainty analysis directly to AI-enabled workflows, signaling that the collaboration will prioritize data-driven reservoir characterization over traditional deterministic simulation paths.

How does Arena connect to Intersect?

Arena inherits the three-party heritage behind Intersect, the reservoir simulator the same SLB–TotalEnergies–Chevron group previously brought to market. Chevron's return as a full collaborative partner — rather than a license customer — points to a multi-operator development model grounded in shared capital and shared roadmaps.

SLB framed the embedded-engineer arrangement as a path to scalable digital subsurface products. The approach reuses the co-development template that delivered Intersect, now applied across a broader portfolio of digital workflows in reservoir engineering and geoscience.

What changes operationally?

For SLB, Arena formalizes a multi-operator funding model that diversifies single-vendor risk and broadens the adoption runway among supermajor operators. For TotalEnergies and Chevron, the arrangement provides earlier access to digital tools ahead of commercial release, alongside direct influence over feature prioritization.

The three companies have not disclosed the size of Chevron's investment or named specific deliverable milestones. The original 2024 framework between SLB and TotalEnergies set out a multi-year roadmap; Arena now extends that scope with a second operator's capital and reservoir expertise.

The collaboration will initially focus on technologies that support reservoir engineering and geoscience workflows, with operator subject matter experts embedded alongside SLB development teams. AI-enabled workflows form an explicit part of the agenda.

Watch items

• First joint development milestones under the expanded three-party framework.
• Commercial release announcements tied to Arena-developed capabilities.
• Deployment metrics from Chevron's use of Arena-enabled tools in reservoir workflows.