Artificial-intelligence companies are stepping up efforts to win contracts from the oil and gas sector by offering bespoke AI-driven tools aimed at improving operations on drilling rigs, in refineries and across other oil assets.
High-profile deal and demonstrations at ADIPEC
One of the most prominent announcements came on Monday with a partnership between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and OpenAI. The deal was a headline example of a broader push at the ADIPEC conference, where multiple technology firms presented AI applications designed specifically for oil-industry operations.
How AI is being used in oil infrastructure
Dan Jeavons, president of UK-based Applied Computing, said that the rapid evolution of frontier AI models means “we’re now really seeing the technology mature to the level where it will make a significant change in the operating processes within the sector.”
Applied Computing — whose staff includes several veterans from Shell and other producers — applies AI to process millions of data points from sensors embedded in oil infrastructure. The analyses aim to help operators run assets more efficiently, detect malfunctions sooner, and reduce emissions.
Intensifying competition
Competition in this area is heating up. The article notes that last week Honeywell Technologies launched an AI platform at the new Dangote refinery in Nigeria. Such moves show multiple vendors are racing to secure oil-industry customers by marketing systems for operational optimization and emissions reduction.
Why this matters
The oil and gas industry is highly data-intensive: operational safety, cost efficiency and environmental performance depend on real-time monitoring and rapid fault detection. As high-performance AI models mature, they may enable faster responses, fewer outages and lower emissions — provided the sector adopts and integrates these new tools.
(Reporting: Tim McDonnell)
