In 2018, Google started an oil, gas, and energy division, hiring Darryl Willis, a 25-year BP executive who "The Wall Street Journal" said was intended "to court the oil and gas industry." Google Cloud signed an agreement with the French oil company Total S.A., "to jointly develop artificial intelligence solutions for subsurface data analysis in oil and gas exploration and production." A partnership with Houston oil investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. was described by the "Houston Chronicle" as giving Google "a more visible presence in Houston as one of its oldest industries works to cut costs in the wake of the oil bust and remain competitive as electric vehicles and renewable power sources gain market share." Other agreements were made with oilfield services companies Baker Hughes and Schlumberger, and Anadarko Petroleum, to use "artificial intelligence to analyse large volumes of seismic and operational data to find oil, maximise output and increase efficiency," and negotiations were started with petroleum giant Saudi Aramco.