How bp is Using AI & Robotics to Boost Oil & Gas Production

Oil and gas fields are among the most industrially productive entities in human history.

Take Saudi Aramco’s Ghawar Field, for instance. This one oil field is capable of producing almost four million barrels of oil every single day.

But despite their prolific output, oil and gas fields can be very inefficient. 

In fact, the IEA suggests that typically only 30% of oil in a reservoir is successfully recovered after standard operations, leaving roughly 70% in the ground.

As such, small efficiency gains scaled across an entire field can translate into a huge uptick in output. 

For many large energy companies, technology holds the key to improving efficiency.

British supermajor bp is one such firm. According to the company’s reports, technology has helped to increase production by around 2% every year for the last five years.

That equates to roughly 20,000 extra barrels of oil equivalent a day.

The company also says its tools have helped protect, on average, around 4% more production from going offline.

So, what kind of technology is bp using to deliver these gains?

Seeing underground more clearly

AI, advanced analytics and robotics are all helping bp to squeeze more value out of its resources and its infrastructure.

One particularly useful application has been in seismic imaging – the art of understanding what lies beneath the earth’s surface.

In recent years, technological advances have enabled companies like bp to pioneer 4D seismic imaging, giving engineers a sharper picture of oil and gas reservoirs over time.

bp has also introduced what it calls digital rocks, virtual models of scanned reservoir rock samples.

These allow subsurface teams to run experiments in days rather than the months once needed for physical laboratory work.

Ricky Burns, Transformation & Technology Manager, says the payoff is speed as well as confidence.

“When we have higher confidence in what's under the ground, we can work to bring production online safer and more quickly,” he says.

Real-time monitoring

Once oil and gas is flowing, the challenge shifts to keeping systems running efficiently.

To help with day-to-day operations bp has a tool called Optimization Genie which analyses real-time data from oil and gas fields.

This analysis is then given to engineers, along with suggestions for how to adjust flow rates or valve settings.

Another area getting the high-tech treatment is the process of restarting production after shutdowns. 

“bp's Well Startup Tool models scenarios and suggests options to enhance safety and promote speedier turnaround for bringing wells back online, helping us to reduce the time production is idle and get it back to peak sooner,” the company says.

Elsewhere, offshore, fibre optic sensors running the length of a well are being used in the Gulf of America to track where oil, gas and water flow in real time.

Jean-Charles Dumenil, who leads production technology delivery at bp, frames this as a judgement issue rather than purely a technical one.

“Better insights lead to better judgement and the potential to produce more barrels,” he says.

The role of robots

Equipment failure on an offshore platform can ripple across an entire asset, so early detection matters.

Specialist monitoring teams track pressure, flow and equipment behaviour, watching for warning signs before they escalate.

Some of that work is now shifting to machines.

In the Gulf of America, shoebox-sized robots are being used to inspect underwater sections of platforms, a task that previously required divers.

bp expects this programme to save millions of dollars in maintenance costs over the next four years, though it has not disclosed a precise figure.

Similar drones and task-based robots are in use in Azerbaijan, where bp has also built a digital twin of all nine offshore platforms in the Caspian.

Engineers use the twin to simulate scenarios and plan maintenance remotely, and the company is now considering extending the model to the onshore Sangachal Terminal.

Marianna Kerimova, Transformation & Technology Manager at bp, is direct about what she sees as the point of the investment.

“It delivers its greatest value when it keeps people safe, removes complexity and helps teams make better decisions,” she explains.

All these small improvements are adding up to something far greater across bp’s operations.

Herlinde Mannaerts-Drew, the company’s SVP of Upstream Research & Development, says that bp’s historic investments in technology are now bearing fruit.

“Years of focused technology integration is now paying off, helping to lift production and set new performance records in parts of the business,” she says.