Briefings
“The robots aren’t coming, they are already here.”1 In May 2019, the Journal of Petroleum Technology addressed the exponential growth of digitized processes in upstream oil and gas operations. The Journal cited to Roger Jenkins, Murphy Oil’s President and CEO, who stated, “[T]he adoption of digital technologies will continue to improve offshore operations, including improved well efficiency, real-time directional drilling, lower maintenance costs and safer operations.” 2
Energy industry advisors at EY reported that a recent survey confirmed that the primary motivation to invest in digital technology was to improve operational efficiencies 3. Artificial intelligence (AI) is creating significant improvements in real-time drilling data analyses. Industry projects are exploring the applications of AI to “provide improved warning time to critical situations by analyzing real-time data coming from the drilling operation” and using “digital twin models with real-time integrity data and deep analytical models to better assess the overall status of the drill fig and systems.” 4
Although the upstream energy sector may not have embraced digitized technology…
