AI in Oil and Gas Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

AI in Oil and Gas Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Global Artificial Intelligence in the Oil and Gas Market was valued at USD 2,034.9 million in 2021, and it is expected to reach a value of USD 3,669.8 million by 2027 while registering a CAGR of 10.81% during the forecast period (2022-2027).

Key Highlights

• As the cost of IoT sensors declines, more major oil and gas organizations are bound to start integrating these sensors into their upstream, midstream, and downstream operations along with AI-enabled predictive analytics.
• Oil and gas remain as one of the most highly valued commodities in the energy sector. In recent years, there has been an increased focus on improving efficiency, and reducing downtime has been a priority for the oil and gas companies as their profits have slashed since 2014 due to fluctuating oil prices. However, as concerns over the environmental impact of energy production and consumption persist, oil and gas companies are actively seeking innovative approaches to achieve their business goals while reducing environmental impact.
• Additionally, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in the OECD countries, the oil price was reduced by 40.6% from March to April 2020, nurturing concerns for oil and gas firms. Hence, companies in the oil and gas sector experiment with contemporary technologies to increase efficiency and revenue. By leveraging artificial intelligence in oil and gas operations, corporations can design algorithms to guide drills on the landmass and ocean floors.
• In addition, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) is making use of AI in parallel ways, owing to the United Kingdom’s first oil and gas National Data Repository (NDR), launched in March 2019, using AI to interpret data, which, according to the OGA anticipations, is likely to assist in discovering new oil and gas forecast and permitting more production from existing infrastructures.
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, the oil and gas industry observed a slump in demand. For instance, oil prices have decreased by 50% since January 2020, with the United States markets are observing a record low. The International Energy Agency reported that oil demand decreased by 29 million barrels per day during the month of April 2020 and is expected to decrease by 23.1 million barrels per day by Q2 2020.

Key Market TrendsUpstream Operations to Witness a Significant Growth

• Organizations across the world are trying to make the exploration and production processes more efficient and optimized. The operations in this field are the major factors that are driving the usage of AI in oil and gas companies. The AI tools can help oil and gas companies in digitizing records and can automate the analysis of the gathered geological data and charts, which can lead to the potential identification of issues, such as pipeline corrosion or increased equipment usage.
• Oil and gas companies can potentially gain crucial insights to improve their business outcomes in their upstream processes with the integration of AI software. This process would involve the feeding of curated data records and information from data sources to the software that could include structured documents, PDFs, handwritten notes, audio, or video files.
• Companies like BP and Royal Dutch Shell, which have both pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, are under increasing pressure to minimize their carbon footprint in compliance with the Paris Agreement. Shell is employing AI technology to do predictive maintenance of individual pieces of equipment or entire systems to reduce their carbon footprint. This allows the corporations to foresee and handle probable equipment faults before they occur.​
• In November 2021, Baker Hughes, an energy technology business, and AIQ, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's (ADNOC) artificial intelligence (AI) joint venture with Group 42 (G42), announced a strategic collaboration agreement to create advanced analytics solutions for the worldwide oil and gas industry.​
• AI has multiple applications in the oil and gas industry, such as production optimization with computer vision to analyze seismic and subsurface data faster, downtime minimizing for predictive maintenance for oil and gas equipment, reservoir understanding, and modeling for predicting oil corrosion risks to reduce maintenance costs. Moreover, the market studied has been witnessing many investments by big players in technology.

North America is Expected to Hold a Significant Market Share

• Owing to the increasing adoption of AI technologies across the oilfield operators and service providers and the robust presence of prominent AI software and system suppliers, especially in the United States and Canada, the North American segment is anticipated to account for the largest share of the AI in the oil and gas market, over the forecast period.
• Factors, such as the strong economy, the high adoption rate of AI technologies across the oilfield operators and service providers, robust presence of prominent AI software and system suppliers, and combined investment by government and private organizations for the development and growth of R&D activities are poised to drive the demand for AI in oil and gas sector, in the region.
• ExxonMobil, one of the leading oil producers in the country, announced its plans to increase the production activity in the Permian Basin of West Texas by producing more than 1 million barrels per day (BPD) of oil-equivalent by as early as 2024. This is equivalent to an increase of nearly 80 percent compared to the present production capacity.
• In addition, owners and operators in the United States recognize how IT-based automation can productively address the unique challenges of the upstream oil and gas sector. For instance, Baker Hughes uses the InForce surface control system, which combines the hydraulic power to activate downhole tools and the control logic to govern an intelligent well system. PLC controls system functions for more complex completion configurations. It is primarily used where remote operations must be done through existing SCADA.
• Among all the enabling technologies, Artificial Intelligence is poised to play a significant role in the oil and gas industry in the region. AI has also been used to increase the safety of gas stations for preventive maintenance. But there have been growing incidences of fires at the gas stations in North America.

Competitive Landscape

The AI in the Oil and Gas Market is moderately competitive and consists of a few major players competing in the market in terms of market share. The companies are continuously capitalizing on acquisitions to broaden, complement, and enhance their product and service offerings, add new customers and certified personnel, and help expand sales channels.

• August 2021 - Aramco, one of the world's leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has deployed edge-powered computer vision solutions built on the FogHorn Lightning Edge AI platform at multiple sites to improve safety, provide proactive monitoring for equipment failure, and enable automation of drilling equipment and processes. The FogHorn Lightning Edge AI Platform was chosen by Aramco to create an effective framework for future automation, digitalization, and standardization initiatives across several sites. FogHorn's technology is excellent for systems integrators, OEMs, and end customers in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, manufacturing, renewable energy, electricity and water, and many more.
• November 2021 - Infosys, along with Shell, collaborated and launched their first product offered to its energy customers. The solution leverages artificial intelligence that enables companies to optimize warehouse inventory levels based on historical consumption. By improving demand planning, this innovative solution reduces the time and labor required to complete maintenance operations and brings down the cost of operation.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

Companies Mentioned

Google LLC
IBM Corporation
FuGenX Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
C3.AI
Microsoft Corporation
Intel Corporation
Royal Dutch Shell PLC
PJSC Gazprom Neft
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd
NVIDIA Corp.
Infosys Limited
Neudax