Aker BP and Armada bring offshore modular data center to Norwegian drilling scene

March 23rd, 2026

Norway’s oil and gas player Aker BP and Armada, a full-stack edge infrastructure company, have joined forces to use an offshore modular data center at the drilling arena on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

Illustration of Edvarg Grieg and Solveig; Source: Aker BP

Aker BP and Armada have entered into an agreement to deploy Armada’s Galleon modular data center for use in an offshore drilling environment on the NCS. This tool is designed to operate in offshore conditions, enabling local processing and analysis of drilling and operational data directly on the rig.

“Offshore drilling environments present a fundamental challenge: critical decisions depend on massive volumes of downhole data, yet connectivity to shore and cloud infrastructure is not always guaranteed. Traditionally, rigs can experience significant delays in processing and analyzing drilling data, slowing decision-making and limiting operational agility,” underlined Armada.

The Galleon is said to strengthen operational resilience and standardize the adoption and use of critical vendor applications by deploying compute infrastructure directly offshore. Running AI models locally is perceived to allow energy companies to predict and prevent equipment failures before they occur, reduce unplanned downtime, and maintain continuity during connectivity disruptions.

The local computing infrastructure is deemed to enhance cybersecurity by minimizing reliance on external networks. With vendor applications standardized on a single edge platform, Aker BP will be able to replace fragmented OT/IT stacks with a hardened architecture, simplifying compliance and cybersecurity by design.

This common foundation also lowers operating costs by making remote monitoring, support, and updates the default, reducing offshore interventions and enabling far greater use of remote operations centers, according to Armada. Previously, the two players worked alongside alliance partners to identify high-value use cases and define deployment requirements for the initial rig installation.

The company elaborates that deployment will begin with a single reference Galleon on one rig, creating a validated blueprint for edge operations that can then be copied across additional assets, turning rig deployment from a bespoke engineering exercise into a repeatable roll-out, sharply reducing setup time and paving the way for more remote and autonomous operations.

The initial deployment will focus on defined use cases related to offshore data processing and model execution. The project represents a continued expansion of Armada’s modular AI infrastructure into offshore environments.

The firm enabled the U.S. Navy to deploy a full-stack modular data center at sea for the first time last year. Aker BP is the operator of the Valhall, Ula, Edvard Grief/Ivar Assen, Alvehim, and Skarv field centers, and co-owner of the Johan Sverdrup field.

The Norwegian oil and gas firm recently started production from a subsea development tied back to an existing platform in the North Sea.