Adnoc and Group 42 form joint venture to develop AI products for oil and gas industry

AIQ is majority owned by Adnoc with a 60% stake

Adnoc's head office in Abu Dhabi. AIQ, a joint venture in which Adnoc owns 60 per cent, has already begun developing new products. Reuters

Adnoc has formed a joint venture with Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm Group 42 to develop and commercialise AI products and applications for the oil and gas industry.

Named AIQ, the new company is 60 per cent owned by Adnoc and 40 per cent by G42, the state-owned oil company said on Wednesday.

AIQ combines AI modelling, supercomputing and a team of data scientists and software engineers from G42 with Adnoc's oil and gas industry expertise and a vast amount of data.

G42 owns and operates Artemis, the world’s 26th-most powerful supercomputer.

“Through this new joint venture, we are able to accelerate the development of new AI solutions to optimise processes, improve planning and increase profitability for Adnoc and the wider oil and gas industry," Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc Group chief executive, said.

Adnoc has been building in-house capabilities for data gathering and reporting since 2018 with the opening of its Panorama Digital Command Centre.

Data gathering, modelling tools and predictive maintenance machine learning technology allow the company to avoid service disruptions and respond swiftly to market dynamics – which have been critical in 2020.

The energy industry is facing its biggest shock in 70 years from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the International Energy Agency, which forecast that global energy demand will fall by 6 per cent this year, about seven times the rate of decline after the 2008 global financial crisis.

“The use of AI, combined with G42’s supercomputing capabilities, as well as Adnoc’s industrial expertise and breadth of data, will unlock efficiencies across the entire value chain, inspiring new approaches," said Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42.

AIQ has started work on a number of projects across the oil and gas value chain such as drilling performance, reservoir modelling, corrosion detection and product quality monitoring.

The launch of AIQ comes after the signing of the agreement between Adnoc and G42 in November 2019.

The chairman of AIQ is Abdulmunim Al Kindy of Adnoc, with G42's Peng Xiao and Mansoor Al Mansoori on the board of directors.