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In recent years, the oil and gas industry has undergone changes, and new technologies have appeared in the energy sector to help meet the challenges of the digital economy. Artificial intelligence has already become a technological trend, but what application can it find in the oil and gas industry? Umar Ali is researching the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the offshore oil and gas industry.
And what about artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a very versatile area , however, in the oil and gas industry mainly two directions prevail: machine learning and data analysis.
Machine learning allows computer systems to learn and interpret data without human intervention, improving its performance through iterations of specific operations. As part of the offshore oil and gas industry, this allows companies to control complex internal processes and quickly respond to problems that people could not predict.
Machine learning can also be used to model various situations, using special forecasting data models that focus on finding and defining patterns based on various input data. The oil and gas industry in this case can use AI to simulate the potential consequences of new developments or to assess the environmental risk of a new project before it is implemented.
Data analysis uses AI to obtain information from data using neural networks, which help to connect pieces of information with each other and create a more complete picture of existing information. The offshore oil and gas industry can use data analysis to make more accessible complex structured data obtained during the development of oil and gas fields, which will allow companies to discover new production opportunities or make more efficient use of existing infrastructures.
The use of artificial intelligence in the oil and gas industry
In January 2019, BP invested in Belmont Technology’s Houston technology startup to strengthen its AI base by developing a cloud-based geoscience platform called Sandy .
Sandy allows BP to interpret geological, geophysical, historical, and reservoir information for a project, creating unique “knowledge graphs”.
AI “intuitively” links information together, identifying new relationships and processes, and uses it to create an up-to-date map of BP’s fossil assets. Based on the results of the AI, the oil company can refer to the knowledge graph, which was generated by the AI using neural networks, in order to conduct modeling and interpret the results.
The Oil and Gas Authority uses AI in a similar fashion to the UK's first National Data Repository, which was launched in March 2019 .
NDR contains 130 terabytes, which is approximately equal to eight years of films in HD-quality about geophysical, infrastructural, field and well data. Available data cover more than 12,500 wells, 5,000 seismic surveys and 3,000 pipelines.
NDR uses AI to interpret this data. OGA hopes that with its help they will be able to open new prospects in the field of oil and gas and increase the production rates of existing infrastructures.
OGA expects the AI-based platform will become part of the energy transition of the UK oil and gas industry, and reservoir and infrastructure data will serve as a good basis for future carbon capture, use and storage projects.
AI can also be used to increase the security of operations on oil and gas platforms. In March 2019, Aker Solutions began working with SparkCognition to improve AI applications as part of its Cognitive Operation initiative.
SparkCognition artificial intelligence systems will be used in an analytical platform called SparkPredict , which tracks the surface and underwater installations of more than 30 offshore structures.
The SparkPredict platform uses machine learning algorithms to analyze data coming from sensors, which allows the company to identify suboptimal operations and impending failures before they occur.
Shell began using a similar software solution in September 2018 , when it began to work with Microsoft to include the Azure C3 Internet of Things software platform in its offshore operations.
The platform uses AI to increase efficiency in all areas of Shell's offshore infrastructure, from drilling and production to empowering employees and ensuring their safety.
The future of artificial intelligence
AI is already involved in a number of sectors in the oil and gas industry as part of global innovations for the digital transformation of exploration and mining operations. But what is the future for artificial intelligence technology in the oil and gas industry?
The industry seems to have readily adopted digital technologies such as AI, and is optimistic about the potential of this technology.
Aker BP Senior Vice President Per Harald Kongelf said:
“The oil and gas industry is facing a rapidly changing digital landscape that requires the involvement of advanced technology to ensure growth and success.”
IBM Senior Manager Brian Gaucher also spoke on this subject:
“Cognitive environments and technologies can bring together decision makers, help them easily exchange information, more smoothly enter heterogeneous data sets, and provide targeted analysis and modeling.”