Harnessing the power of technology

The CIONET Cookbook n°2 comprises recipes for success from 20 of today’s most influential and dynamic information technology leaders across all business sectors. This fascinating volume presents new recipes for digital success based on TV and research interviews with top digital leaders across Europe. Right now, it’s clear that we all face extraordinary technical and business challenges. This second edition of the Cookbook presents further insights into the best practices required to flourish in a new digital era.

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Meanwhile dive in to the next recipe with our Master chef Åshild Hanne Larsen, Vice president of Subsurface Excellence and Digital at Equinor.

Ingredients

Technologies such as fibre optics and artificial intelligence bring new sources of value
Consolidated data reservoirs help to reduce operational risk and optimise yield
Optimism is a powerful asset for any digital leader in today’s uncertain environment

Preparing the dish

Åshild Hanne Larsen is vice president of Subsurface Excellence and Digital at Equinor, formerly known as Statoil. Åshild graduated with a Master in languages and education and has also completed an MBA. She started her career as a catering assistant at Statoil and climbed the career ladder to become an HR executive. She was appointed senior vice president and group CIO for Statoil in 2015. After 6 years as CIO, she moved to a Subsurface vice president role in 2021, with global responsibility for the subsurface technology and digital portfolio, data and information, toolbox and work processes as well as quality assurance and control.

Equinor is an international energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. The firm’s origins date back to 1972, when it was established following the discovery of large oil and gas reservoirs on the Norwegian continental shelf. Today, Norway is one of the world’s most productive petroleum provinces and a test lab for technology development. Equinor employs 22,000 staff and operates in 30 countries. Åshild is proud that her organisation serves the energy needs of over 170 million people worldwide and is a front runner in promoting renewable energy.

Driving transformation and value creation through IT

When Åshild became group CIO seven years ago, the IT function was considered more

as a commodity and cost for the business rather than a strategic value generator. There was

significant pressure to cut IT spending rather than to increase it. Åshild, however, was convinced

that technology could be used to help solve key business challenges and open up new opportunities. Together with her team, she took a bet on developing OMNIA, Equinor’s cloud-based data platform, recognising that access to data could be used to reduce risk and produce

a competitive advantage.

She also launched the cross- business Go Digital initiative to identify business challenges and opportunities that could be solved by technology and designed a corporate-wide digital academy

to ensure development of the capabilities needed for the future. Finally, she was the architect

behind a strategic partnership with the tech giant Microsoft that not only resulted in 2 new data centre regions in Norway but boosted the entire Norwegian tech and supplier ecosystem. These are all strong examples of how IT added fresh value to the business across technology, data, and people, under Åshild’s visionary leadership.

Reducing risk, optimising yield

In her current role in the Subsurface, Åshild and her team run a big portfolio of digital projects

aimed at reducing risk, improving efficiency, and creating value. Since the subsurface is extremely

data rich, cleaning, liberating and analysing data is at the core of their efforts—which leads us to

their Subsurface Data Lake project which aims to make data available for analytics anytime and anywhere, providing a holistic understanding of underwater oil and gas reservoirs.

A second project focuses on utilising fibre optics data to improve production and safety. Fibre optics are placed along many of Equinor’s wells to gather data. On the Johan Sverdrup field on the Norwegian continental shelf, an interrogator is placed on top that sends laser pulses down the cable, records what is returned and converts that into either sound or temperature data. Traditionally, the process of viewing this data took 2-3 weeks, and involved flying hard drives

to shore via helicopter. Now, the amount of data is the equivalent of 10,000 Netflix movies per

second and it takes 2-3 seconds to livestream it for real-time monitoring. By using software and

machine learning, production from the wells can be optimised, and safety can be improved through fast detection of issues.

Their AIM project uses rules-based gamification AI to find the optimal trajectory for a well- like robot finding its way through a maze. AIM allows users to automatically screen many more solutions, improving efficiency, safety and recovery, and it can even unlock well paths that were impossible to calculate manually. Engineers can now select from the best auto-generated drilling trajectories and perform their tasks with greater speed and accuracy, which drives efficiency, supports faster decision-making processes and creates higher yields on investment.

Demonstrating digital leadership

Having worked across a range of functions during her ascent to executive roles in the company, Åshild has an intimate connection with the business requirements of Equinor. She says modern CIOs must be more than just excellent technologists. Effective digital leaders are good translators and are able to sell opportunities to their peers across the organisation. Åshild’s strong network and her awareness of the various functions of the business held her in good stead when she
became CIO in 2015.This knowledge enabled her to connect business and IT in new ways and create a better understanding of business needs and how they could be addressed by utilising new technology-driven opportunities.

Åshild has actively utilised Equinor’s three principles for successful leadership - shape, empower and deliver - during her long career with the company. First, focusing on new opportunities that will help shape the future of the business. She believes technology must work hand-in-hand with human effort to reach new digital frontiers. Second, empowering the team and being clear
about what the IT organisation can offer. Third, seeing through promises and being seen as a trusted deliverer. She believes this concentration on delivery is especially important in a strong engineering environment.

Defining the qualities of a Master Chef

Åshild equates technology with progress, but she is careful to strike a balance between optimism and reality. Having risen from humble beginnings within the organisation, Åshild has learnt to value every individual regardless of status. This quality enables her to treat people with the respect they deserve. She is a great believer in continuous development as her team navigates a rapidly changing business environment. As Equinor shifts out of its traditional offshore exploration

business into international markets and products, she recognises that while some of Equinor’s foundational competencies are still relevant, the company will also need to attract and build a new type of expertise.

Åshild’s mantra is, “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger”. She has a firm belief that digital leaders hold a privileged position from which to help shape the

future. She quotes Abraham Lincoln who said, “the best way to predict the future is to create it”. Åshild advises aspiring leaders to avoid becoming a perfectionist and to say “yes” to every opportunity. She recognises that new opportunities have arisen in many unfamiliar areas

during her own career. However, taking on these fresh openings, including becoming CIO, have helped Åshild to stretch her capabilities and flourish professionally.