Shell to use AI to boost deep sea oil output

British oil and gas giant Shell is set to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology from analytics firm SparkCognition to increase its deep sea oil output.

The companies announced Wednesday that Shell will use SparkCognition’s generative AI technology to “accelerate the pace of imaging and exploration of subsurface structures.”

This new AI will also aim to reduce the costs of hunting for deep sea oil and create a quicker process, the companies said.

“We are committed to finding new and innovative ways to reinvent our exploration ways of working,” Gabriel Guerra, Shell’s vice president of innovation and performance, said in a statement.

“Partnering with SparkCognition and leveraging their expertise in generative AI is opening an exciting opportunity to deliver a new wave of innovations at Shell,” he added.

The traditional approach to imaging and data analysis in deep sea oil hunting typically relies on “terabytes of data, high-performance computing and complex physics-based algorithms to analyze and identify exploration opportunities,” the companies announced.

Instead, they said that the AI algorithms will use seismic data to discover more deep sea oil to create a more efficient and productive process.

“Innovation is crucial in the quest for a net-zero future, and the oil and gas industry will play a vital role in this effort,” SparkCognition Chairman John Browne said in a statement. “Breakthroughs, like the use of AI for exploration, are instrumental to meeting the growing energy demands today as we work to reduce our carbon footprint tomorrow.”