THINKONWARD & ATELIC ANNOUNCE MOU TO ACCELERATE AI & OPEN INNOVATION IN THE ENERGY SECTOR.

Atelic and ThinkOnward are joining forces to close this gap within the Oil & Gas sector by focusing on validated, production-ready applications of AI.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, January 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In an industry where significant attention has been placed on large language models and Agentic technologies, tangible business impact has often lagged behind expectations. In 2026, Atelic and ThinkOnward (a Shell subsidiary) are joining forces to close this gap within the Oil & Gas sector by focusing on validated, production-ready applications of AI.

The collaboration brings together Atelic’s expertise in agentic AI frameworks with ThinkOnward’s deep domain knowledge and global network of industry specialists. By combining advanced AI capabilities with expert-led validation, benchmarking, and governance, the partnership ensures that both large and
small language models are accurate, reliable, and suitable for deployment in mission-critical operational workflows.

ThinkOnward contributes decades of hands-on experience delivering hundreds of real-world Oil & Gas projects, including ongoing work in domain-specific language models, accuracy benchmarking, and applied AI across subsurface and operational workflows. Atelic complements this with its agentic AI framework, Atelic Studio™, designed to orchestrate validated AI agents across complex industrial workflows. Together, this builds on Shell’s long-standing approach of extending in-house technical excellence through a global, virtual network of domain experts spanning geoscience, engineering, and data science.

The partnership will focus on applying agentic AI to concrete industry workflows, including exploration activities spanning seismic acquisition, imaging, and interpretation; the use of digital fibre technologies such as distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) and distributed temperature sensing (DTS) for field monitoring; and drilling and production workflows where real-time data, operational context, and expert knowledge must be combined to support better decisions. Through this approach, Atelic and ThinkOnward aim to translate AI innovation into measurable, real-world value.

Josh Etkind, CEO of ThinkOnward, added: “By bringing together the deep domain and applied AI expertise of ThinkOnward’s global community with the industry-focused agentic frameworks from Atelic Studio™, we see a strong opportunity to accelerate innovation across oil and gas workflows. This collaboration is centered on pairing domain experts with emerging agentic capabilities to support better decision-making and more efficient development planning. I believe this partnership creates a clear path to measurable improvements over time, helping customers advance decision quality and remain competitive as agentic AI rapidly evolves and becomes embedded in industry workflows.”

Ben Owen, CEO of Atelic, commented: “The Middle East is moving quickly from AI ambition to real deployment. This partnership allows us to bring proven agentic technology and global domain expertise together in the region, supporting energy operators as they scale practical, production-ready AI into real
operations.”

About Atelic AI FZCO: Atelic builds the operational foundation for autonomous enterprises, focused on Energy and Manufacturing. Headquartered in Dubai, Atelic delivers ROI-driven, agentic AI solutions that turn data into revenue accelerators. For more information, visit www.atelic.ai.

About ThinkOnward LLC: ThinkOnward is a Shell subsidiary & digital ecosystem created to solve the world’s biggest energy challenges. Through its Open Talent Network and AI/ML platform, ThinkOnward connects scientists and entrepreneurs to accelerate innovation. For more information, visit
www.thinkonward.com.

David Chalklen
Atelic
+971 54 214 5686
david@atelic.ai
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