Meet our team for ONS 2026: Luiz Pipa | Head of Reservoir Geology

Ahead of ONS 2026, we’re introducing our team you’ll meet from AGR in Stavanger.

Our people are at the heart of what we do. Combining deep technical expertise with a passion for helping clients succeed, they support to unlock more value from existing offshore infrastructure through integrated expertise across the well life cycle.

Meet Luiz Pipa, our Head of Reservoir Geology, whose work helps energy companies better understand the subsurface, reduce drilling uncertainty and bring projects forward on the Norwegian Continental Shelf from early exploration through development, production and decommissioning.

Pipa, give us a glimpse into your day-to-day tasks at AGR.

As Head of Reservoir Geology at AGR, I am close to the technical work, but my role is also about leading our highly reputable geoscience team, helping our people grow and working with clients on integrated subsurface projects. For me, doing solid technical work is only part of it. That work also has to help someone make a decision.

Before joining AGR, I was working in drilling performance and automation. I started my career in exploration and reservoir geology, and over time moved closer to field development and operations through drilling integration, real-time geosteering and well performance.

I have been on both sides, working for operators and service companies. That taught me something simple: a good subsurface answer still has to work in the real world. What I enjoy most is working in the space between the subsurface model and what is actually happening at the well. We rarely have the full picture, so you have to connect geology, physics and engineering, make sense of incomplete information and still make a practical decision.

What drew you to the energy industry and what keeps you passionate about it?

I didn’t come into geology through a straight line. I started with mechanics, then studied physics and eventually moved into geology. The energy industry was where those different ways of thinking came together for me: trying to understand something we can never see in full, and then letting the well tell you what you got right and what you didn’t.

That is still what keeps me interested. A model or an interpretation is not the end of the work. At some point, we have to decide where to place a well, how to develop a reservoir or which risk is worth taking. I like working where geology, engineering and operations meet. There is rarely a perfect answer, so you have to be clear about what you know, honest about what you don’t and make the best decision you can with the information available.

At ONS, the focus is on the future of the Norwegian Continental Shelf. How can G&G and reservoir engineering unlock value for NCS?

I believe bringing marginal fields to life could be a path for unlocking value for the maturing Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The challenge is that simpler tiebacks are smaller in scale, making the projects more sensitive to cost, time and uncertainty.

And from what I have seen, marginal fields are rarely unlocked by one big idea. It is normally a sequence of smaller, integrated decisions.

The first step is getting G&G and reservoir engineering aligned on which uncertainties can actually change the development case, and focusing the work there. The model is there to support the decision, not to become the project. That may mean better well placement, an infill or intervention, a phased development, or recognising when another well simply does not make sense.

In a marginal field, even a small improvement in recovery can matter, but avoiding one poorly placed well can matter even more. For me, that is where the real value is: turning subsurface uncertainty into a practical decision that makes sense technically and economically.

Beyond the work, what makes you tick outside of the office?

Outside work, family is the big one for me. I have three children, and we are spread across Brazil, Ireland and Norway, so family life comes with a bit of geography.

They are all following their own paths, and I share something different with each of them. Sport, films and music are some of the things that keep us connected, even when we are in different countries.