Adnoc signs $920m deal to expand AI programme to 2,000 wells

More than 80% of the contract’s value will benefit the UAE economy through ICV programme, Abu Dhabi company says

The Panorama command centre and AI space at the Adnoc headquarters. The company generated $500 million last year by implementing AI solutions. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Energy company Adnoc has awarded a $920 million engineering, procurement and construction contract to expand its artificial intelligence-driven well digitalisation programme across key oilfields in Abu Dhabi.

The initiative will enable the remote monitoring and control of more than 2,000 wells at the Bab, Bu Hasa and South East fields, aiming to boost operational efficiency and safety, the state-owned oil company said in a statement on Tuesday.

The project, awarded by Adnoc Onshore, the company's onshore oil and gas production subsidiary, to Jereh Oil and Gas Engineering, is set for to be completed by 2027. It will rely on Adnoc's private 5G network and advanced AI solutions.

The initiative will “accelerate Adnoc’s well digitalisation programme and the automation of its operations”, said Abdulmunim Al Kindy, Adnoc's upstream executive director. “As we harness the power of industry-leading technologies to further optimise our operations, we are ensuring that we continue to drive significant value back into the UAE economy and the substantial In-Country Value [ICV] generated by this award will further catalyse industrial growth opportunities for the private sector."

More than 80 per cent of the contract’s value will benefit the UAE economy through Adnoc’s ICV programme, supporting economic growth and diversification, Adnoc said.

The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s ICV programme, which seeks to support domestic industrial growth, redirected more than Dh48 billion ($13.1 billion) to the country’s economy in the first half of 2024. The programme aims to redirect half of government spending on procurements and tender contracts into the national economy by 2031. It also supports the goals of the Make it in the Emirates campaign, which was launched by the ministry to attract investment and promote sustainable industrial development in the UAE.

Disruptive technologies, including AI, blockchain, cloud computing, cyber security, the Internet of Things, robotics and the metaverse, are transforming the oil and gas industry. A 2022 research paper by the World Economic Forum and Accenture showed that digitalisation could add between $1.6 trillion and $2.5 trillion to the industry in the next decade.

Adnoc generated $500 million last year by implementing AI solutions, following the integration of more than 30 AI tools across its entire value chain, from field operations to corporate decision-making, the company said in March.

Its well digitalisation programme is currently operational at the onshore Mender, Qusahwira and North East Bab fields. It integrates digital control valves, sensors and other advanced hardware to transmit real-time operational data from the wells and pipelines.

This data flows to control rooms through the energy sector's largest private 5G network, developed in partnership with Abu Dhabi-based e&, allowing real-time monitoring of key indicators including temperature and pressure. AI-driven tools, including AIQ’s RoboWell solution, then autonomously manage well operations based on this continuous data stream.

Last month, Adnoc Distribution said it was developing more than 20 AI-powered tools to optimise operations and boost operational efficiencies.

Adnoc and Abu Dhabi clean energy company Masdar on Monday said they were working with US technology company Microsoft to advance AI and low-carbon initiatives across the UAE's energy sector. The collaboration, announced at Adipec in Abu Dhabi, will explore powering Microsoft’s data centres with renewable energy supplied by Masdar, an Adnoc affiliate.

The initiative also aims to enhance efficiencies within Adnoc's operations, support methane reduction targets and develop AI-driven decarbonisation projects, including carbon capture, low-carbon ammonia and hydrogen solutions. AI solutions are boosting Adnoc’s ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2045 and its target of achieving near-zero methane emissions by 2030. From 2022 to 2023, the company’s AI tools reduced carbon dioxide emissions by one million tonnes.