HOUSTON, March 13 (Reuters) – Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the landscape of oil and gas drilling, allowing companies to drill more efficiently and revisit locations once deemed too difficult or expensive. This was a key topic of discussion at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, the world’s largest energy gathering.
In an industry grappling with fluctuating oil prices and concerns over global energy demand, AI is emerging as a critical tool for maintaining profitability. UK oil giant BP (BP.L) is among the companies leading the charge, using AI to guide drill bits and anticipate potential problems in wells.
“We are able to drill more wells per year and have a better capital allocation,” said Ann Davies, BP’s senior vice president of wells.
Davies’s comments come as BP announced a strategic shift to increase annual spending on oil and gas production.
Devon Energy (DVN.N) has also seen significant benefits from AI, enabling drilling in previously unfeasible areas, according to Chief Technology Officer Trey Lowe. The company now utilizes AI to analyze geological formations and even drill on the opposite side of faults, avoiding potential issues.
Chevron (CVX.N) is employing AI-powered drones to remotely monitor its shale operations in Texas and Colorado. These drones detect potential problems such as emissions leaks and alert field workers in real-time.
According to Russell Robinson, a deputy program manager of facilities and operations at Chevron, the drones have significantly reduced the time production is shut down for repairs or maintenance. In an interview on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference, Robinson stated that the drones have allowed them to shift focus. “We’ve continued to have more assets that are running at a longer time, so this is all around just producing more oil or gas,” he said. Chevron is also assessing the possibility of expanding drone use to monitor its refineries.
Devon Energy has implemented machine learning models to monitor each of its oil rigs, Lowe said. The enhanced use of technology has led to a 15% improvement in drilling efficiency.
Offshore drilling is also benefiting from AI. BP is now able to analyze vast amounts of seismic data in the Gulf of Mexico in just eight to twelve weeks, compared to the six to 12 months that it used to take. This accelerates the process of determining optimal well locations and predicting potential challenges, a company spokesperson explained.
Chicheng Xu, founder of OpenPetro AI, a company that develops AI tools for the energy industry, and a former petrophysicist at Aramco, noted that while AI has been used in the oil and gas sector for years, recent advancements, such as large-language models, are revolutionizing the way oil and gas companies work.
“AI can dig through the data and find the features you want to see and visualize it to you. That’s the real difference,” Xu said, comparing these tools to human approaches.
Lowe from Devon Energy emphasized that the adoption of AI is no longer optional. “Companies that don’t deploy it (AI) will get left behind at this point,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Simon Webb and David Gregorio)
