Stena Drilling and Keystone set their cap on upping the digital drilling ante

January 20, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Scotland-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Stena Drilling has joined forces with Keystone, Norway’s supplier of planning and execution software for well operations, to advance a next-generation, automation-enabled well delivery model.

Stena Evolution drillship; Source: Stena Drilling

The two companies have entered into a collaborative memorandum of understanding (MoU), bringing together Keystone’s digital well planning and execution capabilities with Stena Drilling’s operational excellence and advanced well delivery vision, aiming to drive safer, more efficient, and transparent well operations for clients globally.

“We look forward to progressing this collaboration and exploring how digital drilling capabilities can continue to support the evolving needs of operators and service partners alike,” emphasized the Scottish rig owner.

In pursuit of an automation-enabled well delivery model, the partnership will focus on several joint workstreams, including automated operational reporting, NOVOS auto-configuration workflows from planning to execution, integrated activity and maintenance planning, and shared operational insights to support multi-party collaboration.

Keystone highlighted: “This MOU marks the beginning of a coordinated effort to evaluate and develop next-generation digital drilling capabilities for the benefit of operators and service partners alike.

“We look forward to working closely with the Stena Drilling team as we prepare for upcoming joint initiatives and client engagements.”

Stena Drilling has been working on curbing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint of its rig fleet, as illustrated by DNV’s award of an Abate (P) notation for the Stena Carron drillship after Stena DrillMAX received the Abate (P) accreditation.