Here are the highlights from today's WSJ Article:
"Total SA, meanwhile, is linking up with Google Inc. to better interpret seismic data, and is set to increase its investment in AI to squeeze more hydrocarbons from existing assets."
"The company finally fixed the problem by installing an AI program that monitors data from sensors attached to the pump and flags glitches before they cause a shutdown, says Lars Atle Andersen, vice president of operations for technology and digitalization. Engineers now can fly in to fix such problems ahead of time and avert a shutdown, Mr. Andersen says."
"The drive by oil-and-gas companies to cut costs has grown in importance since oil prices plummeted in mid-2014, disrupting the viability of upstream exploration projects that were planned when crude was still fetching $100 a barrel. While the price of Brent, the global benchmark, is up roughly 6% in the past year, companies are being pressured by investors to keep up capital discipline and find additional cost savings."
"While the price of Brent, the global benchmark, is up roughly 6% in the past year, companies are being pressured by investors to keep up capital discipline and find additional cost savings.
AI can help find those cost reductions by tackling a range of problems. Its deployment in upstream operations could yield collective savings in capital and operating expenditures of $100 billion to $1 trillion by 2025, according to a 2018 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Most companies declined to discuss their exact spending on AI.
"Combining data and analytics can create new business models," says Martin Kelly, head of corporate analysis at the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, who adds, "AI is a component of a broader digital transformation that the oil-and-gas industry is undergoing."
