Building out the AI-assisted energy company: you can’t do it alone

An AI ecosystem of trusted collaborators can help oil and gas companies keep pace with the rapid development of new technologies.

In brief

• Energy companies are investing in AI transformation, facing challenges in scaling proofs of concept to enterprise-wide technology that creates value.
• Effective AI deployment requires a collaborative ecosystem, including internal centers of excellence and external consultants and vendors.
• AI collaborators can help by identifying potential roadblocks, teaming across ecosystems and keeping the focus on human-centered AI.

The energy industry is at an innovation crossroads, with technological capabilities at hand that can power transformation at a scale never seen before.

For oil and gas companies, the competitive and financial incentives are aligned to support significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies. However, developing an enterprise-wide AI platform must be done correctly — with the right collaborators — to achieve maximum value with limited disruption.

The complex task of converting unstructured information and legacy systems into a robust AI platform often benefits from a team approach — an AI ecosystem — that includes experienced, knowledgeable consultants and vendors working together with internal experts.

“In our experience, the approach that works best for oil and gas companies is built around an internal center of excellence (CoE) that establishes AI standards and designs that can be distributed to the organization for the development of use cases,” said Dabral. “The CoE is supported by an ecosystem of trusted consultants and vendors that bring knowledge, experience and skills to the table, supporting the IT and operations personnel who are developing and deploying tools.”

In this approach, the CoE serves to steer innovation and identify opportunities for process, model and data reusability. That’s how companies maximize the benefit of AI compounding — a proof of concept that works for one area of the company often has benefits for others.

The vital role of the AI ecosystem

Most companies today view day-to-day AI support much differently than strategic, nuanced decisions or those that involve significant financial risk. And they are obviously protective of their core business data.

For example, vendors typically manage productivity plays and back-office use cases, while employees oversee AI development that uses proprietary data for decision-making in mission-critical areas, such as subsurface, drilling and completions.

But the rapid advancement of AI technology is driving organizations to trust their ecosystems more. The technology firms developing AI tools are moving so quickly that it can be difficult for internal teams to keep pace. Relying solely on in-house staff means your AI efforts are likely both under-resourced and behind the curve.

Companies that develop a strong ecosystem with proven collaborators have unlimited support and access to the latest and most sophisticated technology. With the CoE setting the strategy and approach, the ecosystem can keep internal teams up to date and deliver customized technology solutions that are fit for purpose.

How to make AI transformation progress now

“Pie in the sky” strategies sound good, but they often just lead to wasted time and money. There are five ways EY teams help clients to pursue maximum value without disruption:

1. Understand your company’s needs and work across the business

EY teams start by studying each company’s unique path from beginning to end, including the data, technology and systems that are needed to make their vision a reality. We work directly with the CoE, from planning through deployment, scaling and change management.

2. Identify what is possible and note potential roadblocks

Our firsthand AI experience in oil and gas enables companies to develop more robust — and attainable — visions of the future. We can translate the vast benefits of AI into business improvements that deliver real value, helping companies transform how they work beyond just faster decisions.

3. Collaborate across the ecosystem

Our alliance partnerships enable us to build and roll out systems at scale. Not only are we system implementers for these power vendors, but we also collaborate closely with them to customize your AI systems for your unique needs — not just a collection of off-the-shelf technologies. Further, our skilled resources in data and AI practice across geographies working on different AI applications, infrastructure services and platforms, which enables us to collaborate on scaling oil and gas ambitions while also offering optionality. We can also help smaller vendors with niche solutions level up their offerings to support the AI needs of large oil and gas companies — a common issue across the industry.

4. Keep humans at the center

AI and data stewards will be necessary across IT and business groups, whether in direct revenue-generating functions, such as drilling and operations, or in supporting functions, such as procurement. We can help drive the change management aspects of AI implementation, educating employees about successful proofs of concept and how to apply those lessons. That education can go a long way toward earning buy-in from technical groups that might be risk adverse and winning over skeptics who worry about the impact of AI.

5. Maintain a constant commitment to responsible and ethical AI

While AI’s growth potential is sparking opportunity across the business, the regulatory environment around it is evolving quickly, and new risks are emerging every day. To succeed in this environment and establish trust, organizations must leverage AI responsibly, which requires a commitment to strategy and governance, transparency and accountability, ongoing data protection, model operations, and risk management.