The Norwegian Continental Shelf has always been shaped by better data, better ideas and better decisions. From the earliest exploration wells to today’s digital subsurface workflows, progress has come from connecting observations across disciplines and turning scattered data into trusted understanding.

This presentation follows Equinor’s subsurface data journey and explores how a stronger data foundation can help unlock the next chapter of value on the NCS. The easy barrels are no longer easy. Future opportunities are smaller, more subtle and more complex, which means we need greater precision: better data, better integration, better technology and faster decisions.

But this is not just about new data or new tools. Some of the most valuable insight may already exist in old reports, legacy databases, physical samples, spreadsheets or specialist knowledge across the organisation. The challenge is to make that information easier to find, trust, connect and use, across applications, disciplines and teams.

By liberating data from silos, improving quality, creating clearer ownership and enabling more connected workflows, we reduce friction in technical work and increase the speed of insight. Emerging AI capabilities make this even more important, because the quality of the answer will only ever be as good as the data and information behind it.

In line with the conference theme, “Connecting Data, Information and People,” this presentation argues that future success depends on bringing those three things closer together, strengthening the creativity, judgement and challenge that come from people working across disciplines.

Ultimately, the future of the NCS will depend on our ability to keep generating new ideas. A trusted data foundation can help make that possible.