Microsoft Deepens Oil Ties, Helping Petrobras Weather Pandemic
Use of cloud computing surges at the Brazilian oil giant to facilitate work from home and allow rigs to be monitored remotely
Performers dance on a poster promoting a new version of Microsoft Windows in Manhattan.
Photographer: Chris Hondros/Getty Images North AmericaBig Oil is tapping Big Tech to keep drilling off the shores of Brazil even as the global pandemic traps workers at home.
Confronted with the need to keep employees working remotely, Petroleo Brasileiro SA fast-tracked a move to a Microsoft Corp. cloud platform it had already been testing before lockdowns, Fernando Lemos, Microsoft’s chief technology officer in Brazil, said in an interview. That’s allowing staff to access from home data that was previously only available in the oil giant’s offices in Rio, and to monitor the use of safety equipment at deep-water vessels.