Cohort: 3

Members: Nikolaos Mitsakos, Patrick Bangert, Yuxing Ben, James Cassanelli, Ali Karimi, Vivianne Mahecha Martinez

Issue: Before investing millions of dollars in drilling, companies like Occidental desire to better understand geologic reservoirs and where oil & gas are most likely to be found. Today, this process relies on geologists and engineers interpreting huge volumes of geological and seismic data, which takes time and can be difficult to scale. Small interpretation differences can impact drilling decisions, reserve estimates and capital allocation.

Approach: The company developed a suite of AI tools that helps geologists and engineers create a shared first-pass interpretation of subsurface conditions. The system analyzes well logs, rock chemistry, sensor measurements, and decades of historical interpretations to identify matching rock layers, predict rock types before drilling, group areas with similar geological behavior, and estimate the presence of oil, gas and water underground. The tools are integrated directly into the software experts already use, allowing teams to review and refine the AI-generated results rather than replacing human decision-making.

Result: Geological interpretation work that previously took months now takes days, with less drilling downtime, fewer drilling-tool changes, and reduced horizontal drilling time.