March 25 (Reuters) - Oilfield services company SLB

said on Wednesday it would expand its partnership with

Nvidia ( NVDA ) to develop artificial intelligence

infrastructure and models for the energy industry, as companies

look to scale up use of the technology.

The deal builds on the two companies' partnership, which

began in 2008 when SLB used Nvidia's ( NVDA ) accelerated computing and

then expanded in 2024 to development of generative AI solutions

for the energy sector.

It also reflects the energy industry's need to process

growing volumes of geological, production and infrastructure

data more quickly, at a time when producers are seeking to cut

costs, improve reliability and lower emissions.

Oilfield contractors such as SLB are also keen to drive

growth by delivering power equipment, turbines and data

solutions to data centers and related AI infrastructure work, at

a time when drilling demand is slowing.

Under the expanded partnership, SLB will act as a design

partner for modular AI data centers based on Nvidia ( NVDA ) technology

and work with the U.S. chip firm to create an "AI Factory for

Energy". The platform aims to help oil and gas producers and

power companies apply AI to large volumes of operational data.

"Building AI Factory infrastructure and domain models is

needed to turn massive amounts of energy data into actionable

insights and accelerate more efficient and sustainable energy

systems," said Vladimir Troy, vice president of AI

Infrastructure at Nvidia ( NVDA ).