BP Puts AI at the Heart of Its Efforts to Boost Performance
(Bloomberg) -- When engineers prepare to drill for oil, they know the spot deep underground where the well must end and can choose their starting point, but there are many possible routes in between.
Optimizing that subsurface path — evaluating geological opportunities and challenges to ensure a successful job — has been a time-consuming task for engineers. Now, through BP Plc's technology center in Houston, a new AI-powered tool is dramatically streamlining the process and running thousands of scenarios to determine the best trajectory. You may be interested in
'It basically takes the time it would've taken people to do that from months down to days,' said BP Executive Vice President of Technology Emeka Emembolu. The technology 'is a massive game changer and it's getting us better outcomes in the wells we're drilling.'
Artificial intelligence is being used by many companies across the oil industry. Exxon Mobil Corp. deployed the technology to help develop its flagship offshore discovery in Guyana. Autonomous drilling has played a role in productivity improvements seen in the US shale industry.
The potential for this technology to deliver significant gains in operational efficiency has particular relevance for BP. Under pressure from unhappy shareholders and aggressive activist investor Elliott Investment Management, the company is seeking to reverse a long period of poor performance by boosting growth and profitability.
After several years of focusing on clean energy, oil drilling has renewed importance as BP pivots back toward fossil fuels. The financial targets that underpin Chief Executive Officer Murray Auchincloss's strategy reset all require doing more with less — curbing capital expenditure, cutting costs, raising returns and giving more cash to shareholders.
To help achieve these goals, BP is pushing AI into every part of its operations, Emembolu said in an interview in London, where he will be speaking at the Tech Week conference.
'Our technology agenda is central to growing oil and gas, central to helping us focus our downstream business and to invest in the transition with discipline,' Emembolu said.
The drilling optimization tool is already being used in fields from the Gulf of Mexico — a key driver of US oil output growth this year — to Azerbaijan, where BP earlier this month advanced a $2.9 billion natural gas project.
In the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, where BP plans significant investments in shale oil production, Emembolu said an AI-generated 'morning report' is directing field hands to sites most urgently in need of work and reduce the amount of time spent driving across the sprawling basin's roads.
Near Chicago, where BP's Whiting refinery processes large volumes of crude from Canada, the company is working with Palantir Technologies Inc. to embed data engineers to optimize processes on site to reduce costs and improve operational uptime. Disruption at the facility can have a significant impact on BP's earnings, such as in the first quarter of 2024 when a storm led to a lengthy shutdown.
The technology is also being used outside of core oil and gas businesses — identifying optimal locations for the fastest electric-vehicle chargers; helping Indian motorists avoid lines at fuel stations with mobile notifications; advising German convenience store managers on how many pastries to bake each morning.
'In terms of costs, we're looking at things from all scales,' Emembolu said. 'Nothing is too big or too small for us to look at.'
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
29 minutes ago
- Mint
Is Mark Zuckerberg building a Superhuman AI with Meta's new AGI dream team? Here's what report suggests…
Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive of Meta Platforms, is reportedly spearheading an ambitious push towards developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) — a form of AI designed to rival or surpass human cognitive abilities. According to a Bloomberg report published on Tuesday, Zuckerberg is personally overseeing the formation of a specialist unit focused on AGI research, marking a significant shift in Meta's AI strategy. The report suggests the tech billionaire is preparing to recruit around 50 top-tier researchers, including appointing a new head of AI research to lead the initiative. This move coincides with Meta's anticipated multi-billion-dollar investment in Scale AI, a prominent American data-labelling company. Sources indicate that Scale AI's founder and CEO, Alexandr Wang, is expected to play a key role in the AGI project once the investment is finalised. While Meta has not issued an official response and Mint was unable to independently verify the report, the Bloomberg report views this development as a response to internal dissatisfaction with Meta's current AI offerings. In particular, there has been reported frustration surrounding the performance and reception of the company's latest large language model, Llama 4. Further fuelling speculation, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Meta postponed the release of its next-generation AI system, codenamed 'Behemoth', over unresolved concerns about the model's capabilities and potential risks. Meta's intensified focus on AGI aligns with similar efforts from rivals like OpenAI, which are also courting investors and reshaping internal teams to accelerate progress in this high-stakes frontier of technology. In other news, Meta Platforms has also reportedly partnered with defence tech firm Anduril Industries to create advanced 'mixed reality' equipment aimed at boosting soldiers' situational awareness on the battlefield. According to AFP, the collaboration will integrate Meta's expertise in augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) with Anduril's Lattice data analytics system. The resulting product—potentially in the form of AR glasses, visors, or goggles—is expected to help military personnel better interpret and respond to real-time data during operations. (With inputs from Bloomberg and Reuters)
Economic Times
43 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Why India has an incentive to act tough in Trump trade talks
Agencies Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump The ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China, two of the world's most powerful nations, could present India with a crucial opportunity to finalize its own trade deal with the US before the 90-day reciprocal tariff deadline. As India and the United States engage in intense negotiations, Swaminathan Aiyar, Consulting Editor at ET Now, believes that India has the potential to be a strong negotiator, much like its neighbor China, and secure a favorable deal for itself. "The Chinese stood up, when Trump increased the import by 125%, so did they and ultimately Trump had to back down on that and has backed down on various things. So, on the one hand this means that some kind of deals are definitely more possible. It also means that every country including India we have an incentive not to give way very easily," said Aiyar. Aiyar explained that India has an incentive by bringing up how China stood up against the wishes of US, and was rewarded. "If all of us stand up, then we have this guy who from being a dragon now is beginning to chicken out on various deals, so let us talk tough, let us act tough. So that is the global position right now. For the very fact that the Americans say they are willing to ease the restrictions on high-end chips in return for the rare earths is a sign of chickening out in a big way," said Aiyar. "As I said, we all have an incentive now to act tough because Mr Trump is very keen on reaching deals with the major countries before the 90-day deadline. Let us see what happens. As I said, I would look for last minute developments rather than anything right now despite the talks in London," added Aiyar. Both sides are looking at an interim trade deal before the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) as the USA's 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on India is suspended till July 9 this year. It was imposed by the US on April 2. However, Indian goods still attract the 10 per cent baseline tariff imposed by America. India, US remain 'optimistic' Recently, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he's 'very optimistic' about prospects for a trade deal between the US and India, suggesting an agreement could come before a July deadline for higher tariffs. The same sentiment was shared by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. According to a recent report by the finance ministry, a successful US-India bilateral trade agreement could flip current headwinds into tailwinds, opening up new market access and energising exports. The possible optimism is seen with the US trade team that's currently in India for negotiations has extended its stay, reported Bloomberg quoting its sources, in a sign talks are progressing ahead of a July deadline. India and the US are working on a phased trade deal with an early agreement targeted for July, the deadline for implementation of the so-called reciprocal tariffs. At the same time, those tariffs are facing legal challenges in Indian officials say talks remain on track, there have been signs of tension in recent days. New Delhi appears to be adopting a tougher stance in negotiations, threatening retaliatory tariffs on US goods last week. Trump has also claimed that India offered to slash tariffs on US goods to zero, while downplaying any sense of urgency to reach a trade deal. What are India, US hoping from the trade deal? The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion. The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total goods exports, 6.22 per cent in imports, and 10.73 per cent in the country's total merchandise trade. With America, India had a trade surplus of $41.18 billion in goods in 2024-25. The two trading partners look to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by boost bilateral trade, India is seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, chemicals, grapes, and bananas in the proposed pact with America. On the other hand, the US wants duty concessions in sectors like certain industrial goods, automobiles (electric vehicles in particular), wines, petrochemical products, dairy, and agriculture items such as apples, tree nuts and GM (genetically modified) crops. While the import of GM crops from the US continues to remain a non-starter due to regulatory norms in India, New Delhi is open to import non-GM products like Alpha alpha hay (a kind of cattle feed).On April 10, the United States temporarily suspended additional tariffs on Indian exports for a 90-day period, effective until July 9. The pause was seen as a goodwill gesture and an effort to build momentum in trade discussions. This development followed a broader tariff overhaul on April 2, when the US imposed universal duties on imports from nearly 60 countries in a bid to reduce the American trade deficit and strengthen domestic production. As part of that move, Indian exports were slapped with an additional 26% duty—covering sectors ranging from seafood to industrial metals like steel.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Your AC's minimum temperature may not go below 20 degrees C if govt has its way. Here's why
If the government of India pushes through a new energy-saving regulation, your air conditioner's thermostat may soon refuse to go below 20 degrees Celsius no matter how hot the weather gets. According to Bloomberg, the government is working with appliance manufacturers to standardise the operating temperature range of air conditioners to ensure that the minimum temperature is not set below 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), a shift from the current settings that often allow temperatures as low as 16 degrees Celsius. 'Temperatures would be set in the range of 20C-28C,' power minister Manohar Lal told reporters at a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday. 'This would be done for ACs at homes, hotels and even in cars.' The plan, although at an initial stage, reflects the government's focus on boosting energy efficiency as electricity consumption soars. In recent years, demand has outpaced generation capacity, leaving parts of the country without power during the sweltering summer months of April through June, the news agency reported. Air conditioners account for about 50 gigawatts, or one-fifth, of the maximum load, said Pankaj Agarwal, the ministry's top bureaucrat. The math behind the move is compelling: every single-degree increase in AC temperature can reduce energy consumption by around 6%. If the minimum is raised to 20 degrees Celsius nationwide, officials estimate it could save up to 3 gigawatts of peak demand, Agarwal said, citing studies. A study by the University of California, Berkeley, said that tightening energy efficiency standards for cooling could save 60 gigawatts in India's peak electricity demand by 2035, avoiding 7.5 trillion rupees ($88 billion) of new generation and grid infrastructure. India, which has around 100 million air conditioning units in use and adds about 15 million more every year, is confronting a growing electricity shortfall. Last summer, demand surged to a record 250 gigawatts. This year, it's expected to rise another 8%, although May's unseasonal rains temporarily eased the pressure. 'Even if the peak requirement reaches the estimated 270 gigawatts, we are fully prepared to meet it,' Lal said. Separately, the minister said that the government is working on a plan to invite companies to build 30 gigawatt-hour battery storage projects to widen the use of renewable energy and reduce the nation's dependence on fossil fuels.
