Join us in celebrating engineering — and women engineers — across AGR locations. For support across subsurface, reservoir engineering, production technology, and asset evaluations, Lone and her team are happy to assist you.
This week at AGR, we are celebrating World Engineering Day (March 4) and International Women’s Day (March 8). We are proud of the women engineers across our multidisciplinary energy consultancy teams. That’s why we are spotlighting colleagues and sharing what they do, what inspires them, and the advice they’d give to the next generation of women engineers.
Meet Lone Margrethe Olstad. Lone brings more than 20 years of experience across subsurface, reservoir, and production optimisation, along with five years in the technology sector. Throughout her career, she has held both engineering and leadership roles, spanning alliance models, large energy project portfolios, and technology-driven transformation.
Lone, what’s your role and what kind of engineering work do you focus on?
In my daily work, I lead our subsurface consultancy teams and manage our technical delivery within reservoir and geoscience.
My focus is to ensure we understand our clients’ needs and challenges, and deliver efficiently on time, with the right quality and fit-for-purpose consultancy to support decision-making across exploration, field development and production. A key part of my role is combining strong technical quality with pragmatic decision-making to maximise value for our clients.
What’s one project or area of your work that you feel really contributes to progress or sustainability?
Our work includes audits, Competent Person’s Reports and a wide range of technical studies. By optimising well placement, reducing non-productive time and improving reservoir understanding, we contribute to more efficient resource recovery and a lower environmental footprint. Smarter subsurface decisions are an important part of making the industry more sustainable.
What do you enjoy most about being an engineer in our industry?
I enjoy the combination of technical depth and leadership, and the opportunity to contribute to the continued development of our industry in ways that create value for both our customers and our company. Subsurface engineering is highly multidisciplinary – no two days are the same, and the challenges are complex. I find it very motivating to work with talented colleagues to solve problems that truly matter.
As part of World Engineering Day and International Women’s Day, we’re highlighting how our colleagues’ careers have evolved — and what brought them into our industry. Looking back, what support, knowledge or opportunity have made the biggest difference in your career so far?
Two experiences stand out. One was when I was leading the Subsea Alliance at Aker BP, one of the largest Operators in the Norwegian Continental Shelf. I was trusted with building the alliance from scratch by defining values, strategy, and goals to ensure we operated as one team and delivered on the alliance’s mission.
The second was during my six-year role at Cognite, where I gained insight into how a software company operates, experienced a different commercial business model, and worked in a high-paced environment. That allowed me to combine a technical review with rapid technological developments and widened my perspectives significantly.
Was there a mentor, colleague or team who helped you grow – and how did that support show up?
Many people have contributed to my growth throughout my career. My leaders have shown trust and given me challenging responsibilities, which helped me grow both technically and as a leader. I have also been fortunate to work with teams that challenged me, provided honest feedback and voiced their opinions openly. That culture of trust and constructive dialogue has been key to delivering high-performing results.
One of this year’s International Women’s Day focus areas is the power of mentorship and support. How do you try to give back – whether through mentoring, sharing knowledge, or supporting others?
I aim to give open and honest feedback, always ensuring it is direct and concrete. I work to create an environment where people feel safe to ask questions and take responsibility. I also prioritise knowledge sharing across disciplines and building diverse, complementary teams, as I strongly believe this strengthens both technical quality and overall team performance.
What advice would you give to women considering a career in engineering today?
Believe in yourself and your capabilities – don’t underestimate the value of your perspective. Seek environments where you are both challenged and supported, and don’t be afraid to take responsibility before you feel 100% ready. Speak up and voice your opinions – and be thoughtful about how you do it. Our industry benefits greatly from diverse perspectives and leadership styles.
***
Position: VP Subsurface
Office: Oslo, Norway