OTC 2025: Autonomous capabilities provide offshore operations with a new lease of life
By Mohammed Ali Khan, AIQ
The impact of automation in offshore energy is no longer theoretical; it’s real, measurable and scaling fast. From driving up safety and asset reliability to slashing downtime and emissions, the industry is seeing transformative gains across the board.
At the heart of this evolution is end-to-end digitalization. By digitizing offshore infrastructure and layering on AI-driven operational intelligence, energy players are unlocking a new era of autonomous performance—smarter, safer, faster.
Autonomous systems are solving some of the industry's toughest offshore challenges by:
- Reducing operational disruptions: Tackling well and facility instability to avoid trips and downtime ensures smooth, uninterrupted output.
- Real-time optimization: Shifting from reactive to proactive operations that adapt to field conditions in real time cut costs and boost efficiency.
- Data-first decision-making: Eliminating blind spots by tapping into real-time sensor data provides a clearer, faster view of well and facility performance.
AI use cases
ADNOC began embedding AI into its operations five years ago. Today, it’s woven into every layer of the organization—from the control room to the boardroom.
ADNOC has developed and deployed more than 200 AI use cases, spanning exploration, production, refining, logistics, and strategic planning, with support from AIQ, a joint venture between Presight and ADNOC.
Co-developed with Halliburton, RoboWell is an autonomous well control system. Using AI in the cloud, it allows wells to self-operate and self-adjust based on changing field conditions. This results in safer operations, fewer site visits, lower emissions and better performance.
It was first deployed in 2023 at ADNOC’s NEB "smart field" and is now in commercial use across hundreds of onshore and offshore wells. The technology delivers up to a 5% increase in well production, 50% reduction in well movement and 30% gas-lift optimization.
RoboWell's first offshore deployment was in 2024 at the NASR Field.
It’s available internationally via Halliburton’s Landmark iEnergy hybrid cloud.
